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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. rest — a break
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. game — a match
  7. pass — a permit
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mine — for digging
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. game — wild animals
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. ground — a position
  24. wind — moving air

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