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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mine — for digging
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bore — to drill
  9. season — of the year
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cap — of ice
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. ground — a position
  17. can — to be able to
  18. can — a tin
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pitch — completely
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. can — a tin

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