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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. spell — magic
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. chip — for betting
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. ball — a great time
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pitch — completely
  11. ball — a dance
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. ground — a position
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. spell — letters
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ground — the earth
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. racket — for tennis

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