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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. ruler — a monarch
  3. can — a tin
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. game — a match
  6. spell — letters
  7. court — for sport
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. court — of law
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. can — to be able to
  13. spell — a short time
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. stem — to come from
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. court — of a king
  22. can — a tin
  23. spell — magic
  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