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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. band — a music group
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. staff — employees
  10. scale — in music
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. ground — crushed
  14. mine — for digging
  15. staff — a stick
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — completely
  19. band — a ring
  20. bore — to drill
  21. staff — employees
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bore — to tire
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com