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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pitch — completely
  8. content — the amount
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. saw — the tool
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. fall — the season
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. clip — a video
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. content — happy
  20. spring — the season
  21. clip — for paper
  22. spring — of water
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ground — crushed

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