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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. ground — a position
  3. bound — obliged
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bulb — for light
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bound — certain
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bulb — for light
  16. fine — high quality
  17. chair — a leader
  18. fine — all right
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. ground — crushed
  22. root — of a word
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ground — the earth

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