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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 124 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 no middle ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mine — for digging
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. chest — of your body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. branch — a division
  12. prune — to trim
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. tube — the underground
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. tube — a container
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. prune — to trim
  24. lie — to recline

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