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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mug — a face
  8. game — a match
  9. ground — crushed
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mug — to rob
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wound — an injury
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mate — a friend
  22. ground — the earth
  23. mug — a cup
  24. ground — a position

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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