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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. ground — crushed
  3. root — the cause
  4. spell — magic
  5. bass — the fish
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cap — of ice
  8. last — to go on
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. last — finally
  13. ground — a position
  14. bass — low music
  15. cap — a lid
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — in sport
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cap — a hat
  22. spell — a short time
  23. last — final
  24. season — to add flavour

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