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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. foot — a measure
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. key — in music
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. ball — a dance
  9. present — a gift
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. ground — a position
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. present — there
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. ground — the earth
  17. key — the most important part
  18. ball — a great time
  19. present — the time now
  20. tear — to rip
  21. key — for a lock
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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