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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 116 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ground — crushed
  7. spring — of water
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. ground — the earth
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. stand — to bear
  18. kid — child
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bear — the animal
  21. ground — a position
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — for digging
  24. racket — for tennis

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