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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. scale — size or range
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — a hat
  6. ball — a dance
  7. spring — of water
  8. mug — a cup
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spring — the season
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mug — to rob
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. scale — in music
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. mug — a face
  24. spring — a coil

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