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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. row — a line
  3. spring — of water
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bass — low music
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bass — the fish
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. spring — the season
  16. ground — a position
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. spring — a coil
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — a container
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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