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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. spring — of water
  3. fine — high quality
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pitch — completely
  9. ground — crushed
  10. date — the fruit
  11. ground — the earth
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. ground — a position
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. current — electric
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. fine — a penalty

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