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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. swing — music
  6. hand — help
  7. pass — a permit
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. swing — in golf
  10. spell — a short time
  11. game — a match
  12. spell — letters
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spell — magic
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. hand — in cards
  19. ground — a position
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. game — wild animals
  24. swing — to play on

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