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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. ground — the earth
  4. charge — electricity
  5. fall — the season
  6. pit — in a race
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. ground — a position
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. charge — in control
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pit — a hole
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. charge — a price
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. content — videos and posts

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