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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. spell — letters
  6. staff — employees
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. perch — the fish
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. staff — a stick
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. staff — employees
  19. ground — the earth
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. dip — to sink
  24. ball — a dance

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