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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 124 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. ground — a position
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. ground — crushed
  6. court — of a king
  7. roll — a list
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ground — the earth
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of law
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. cold — an illness
  20. swing — music
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — in golf

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