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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. face — to confront
  3. march — the month
  4. last — to go on
  5. ground — a position
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. march — the month
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. last — finally
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. last — final
  21. march — music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. ground — the earth

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