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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. ball — a great time
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. ground — a position
  8. pound — a weight
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wound — an injury
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — letters
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. wound — an injury
  15. board — a committee
  16. spring — the season
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ball — a dance
  21. board — to get on
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. spell — a short time
  24. ground — the earth

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