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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. spell — letters
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. spell — magic
  5. capital — money
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. board — to get on
  15. rest — what's left
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. rest — a break
  18. board — a committee
  19. pop — music
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bulb — for light
  22. capital — a city
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — soda

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