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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. scale — in music
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stock — shares
  7. row — to paddle
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stock — goods
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mine — for digging
  14. ground — a position
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. cold — not warm

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