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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. ground — crushed
  3. hand — help
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. ground — a position
  7. band — a music group
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pit — in a race
  10. present — a gift
  11. row — a line
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. band — a ring
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. present — the time now
  18. pit — a hole
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. row — to paddle
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. snap — to click
  23. hand — in cards
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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