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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. ground — the earth
  3. charge — in control
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wake — a trail
  6. charge — a price
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. spring — a coil
  9. ground — crushed
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. spring — the season
  12. clip — for paper
  13. charge — electricity
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. clip — to cut
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. spring — of water
  21. clip — a video
  22. ground — a position
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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