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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. saw — the tool
  3. fine — high quality
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — money
  10. saw — the tool
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fine — all right
  17. ground — a position
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. capital — a city
  23. clip — for paper
  24. ground — the earth

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