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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. rash — hasty
  5. ground — a position
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pitch — completely
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. rash — a series
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bulb — for light

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