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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rule — government
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. shower — rain
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. net — in sport
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. ground — a position
  11. mug — a cup
  12. rule — a law
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mug — a face
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. mug — to rob
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. shower — to wash

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