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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. court — of law
  9. ground — a position
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. court — of a king
  13. wound — an injury
  14. court — for sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bass — the fish
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bass — low music
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wound — an injury

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