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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. key — in music
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. ground — the earth
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. ground — a position
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. key — for a lock
  15. wind — moving air
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. key — the most important part
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. mine — an explosive

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