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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. shower — rain
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. track — a song
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. track — to keep track
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. shower — to wash
  14. sharp — clever
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. ground — a position
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. track — a path
  19. ground — crushed
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wound — an injury
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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