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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitch — completely
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bear — the animal
  10. content — happy
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. content — the amount
  15. bear — the animal
  16. lean — thin
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. lean — to bend

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