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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 120 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spring — the season
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. snap — to click
  7. spring — of water
  8. charge — a price
  9. hand — help
  10. craft — a skill
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. hand — in cards
  13. game — wild animals
  14. craft — boats
  15. charge — electricity
  16. ground — the earth
  17. charge — in control
  18. game — a match
  19. spring — a coil
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. ground — a position
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. sharp — with an edge

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