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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. court — of a king
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rush — hurry
  6. season — in sport
  7. court — for sport
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. court — of law
  10. tube — the underground
  11. ground — the earth
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. stem — to come from
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. ground — crushed
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. season — of the year
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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