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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 mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. ground — the earth
  3. spring — of water
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. season — in sport
  6. ground — a position
  7. spell — a short time
  8. season — of the year
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spring — a coil
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. clip — for paper
  21. foot — a measure
  22. spring — the season
  23. clip — a video
  24. pop — music

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