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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 a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. ground — a position
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. band — a music group
  5. ground — crushed
  6. kick — in football
  7. ground — the earth
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. spring — of water
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. band — a ring
  17. spring — the season
  18. fine — all right
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fan — a supporter

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