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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 116 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. track — to keep track
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. last — finally
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rock — a stone
  7. track — a path
  8. track — a song
  9. pop — music
  10. ground — the earth
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. ground — a position
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. shower — rain
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. pop — soda
  19. rock — music
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. lie — to recline
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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