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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. track — to keep track
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. track — a path
  7. track — a song
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. ground — a position
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bulb — for light
  16. present — a gift
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. shower — to wash
  19. present — there
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. ground — the earth
  24. present — the time now

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