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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. last — finally
  3. ground — crushed
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. game — wild animals
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. scale — in music
  9. last — to go on
  10. ground — the earth
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. scale — size or range
  13. ball — a great time
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. ball — a dance
  16. sharp — clever
  17. deal — to handle
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. last — final
  20. game — a match
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. scale — for weighing

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