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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. fine — all right
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bound — tied together
  10. ground — a position
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wind — moving air
  13. key — in music
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. fine — high quality
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. key — the most important part
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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