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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 116 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. rest — a break
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. club — for golf
  7. land — ground
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. ground — the earth
  10. land — to come down
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. lean — thin
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pass — a permit
  16. rest — what's left
  17. field — for sport
  18. land — a country
  19. club — for dancing
  20. lean — to bend
  21. club — a group
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. lean — to rest against

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