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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. rest — a break
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. lean — thin
  7. field — a subject
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. sharp — clever
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. ground — a position
  12. field — for sport
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. ground — the earth
  16. stand — to bear
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. rest — what's left
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. field — farmland
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. rest — what's left
  24. nail — for a hammer

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