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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. bound — obliged
  3. rush — hurry
  4. clip — a video
  5. ground — crushed
  6. root — of a word
  7. ground — a position
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. root — of a plant
  13. clip — to cut
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bound — certain
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitch — completely
  23. root — the cause
  24. bound — tied together

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