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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wound — an injury
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. object — a thing
  5. object — to protest
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — a division
  10. spell — letters
  11. season — in sport
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. season — of the year
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. spell — magic
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wound — an injury
  22. object — an aim
  23. spell — a short time
  24. ground — a position

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