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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. lean — thin
  3. wound — an injury
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rule — government
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. ground — a position
  9. rule — a law
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — farmland
  13. saw — the tool
  14. field — a subject
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bulb — for light
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. field — for sport
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stock — shares

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