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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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Word bank
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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wind — moving air
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. ground — a position
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. court — of law
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — child
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. nail — for a hammer

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