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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. rest — what's left
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. land — ground
  7. spring — of water
  8. ground — crushed
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. band — a ring
  16. ground — a position
  17. club — for dancing
  18. ground — the earth
  19. spring — the season
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. band — a music group
  24. pitch — completely

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