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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. ground — the earth
  16. staff — employees
  17. date — the fruit
  18. race — the arms race
  19. clip — a video
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — a contest
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. date — on the calendar

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