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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. stand — to bear
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. chest — a box
  5. roll — a cake
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pop — music
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pop — soda
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. spell — letters
  12. roll — a list
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pop — to visit
  15. spell — magic
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ground — a position

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