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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. spring — a coil
  3. hand — help
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — a thing
  6. spring — the season
  7. rest — what's left
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pop — soda
  10. ground — a position
  11. pop — music
  12. capital — money
  13. rest — a break
  14. sharp — clever
  15. spring — of water
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. pop — to visit
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rest — what's left
  23. hand — in cards
  24. object — an aim

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