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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. bass — low music
  3. last — to go on
  4. ground — crushed
  5. kick — in football
  6. ground — the earth
  7. spell — letters
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. ground — a position
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. spell — magic
  12. last — finally
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. saw — the tool
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. last — final
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bulb — for light
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bulb — for light

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