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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. ground — a position
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. capital — a city
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wake — a trail
  16. swing — music
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. band — a music group
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. capital — money
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. prune — to trim

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