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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rush — hurry
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. perch — the fish
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. sharp — clever
  10. field — farmland
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. swing — music
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. swing — to play on
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. swing — in golf
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. ground — the earth
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. ground — crushed
  24. capital — money

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