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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. ground — crushed
  3. kid — child
  4. firm — a company
  5. last — final
  6. kid — to tease
  7. spring — of water
  8. ground — a position
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. last — finally
  13. ball — a great time
  14. firm — decided
  15. firm — steady
  16. spring — the season
  17. drill — the tool
  18. pitch — completely
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. ball — a dance
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. last — to go on

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