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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. club — for dancing
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. ground — crushed
  7. last — to go on
  8. club — a group
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bear — the animal
  12. capital — money
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. capital — a city
  16. drill — army training
  17. bear — the animal
  18. club — for golf
  19. drill — a practice
  20. sharp — clever
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. sharp — exactly

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