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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spring — a coil
  3. suit — to fit
  4. row — a line
  5. firm — decided
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wound — an injury
  8. ground — the earth
  9. suit — clothes
  10. game — wild animals
  11. spring — the season
  12. firm — steady
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. firm — a company
  16. date — the fruit
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spring — of water
  20. suit — in cards
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. row — to paddle
  24. ground — a position

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