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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — the earth
  3. last — to go on
  4. wound — an injury
  5. hand — in cards
  6. track — a path
  7. bound — certain
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mate — a partner
  11. last — finally
  12. bound — tied together
  13. tube — a container
  14. track — to keep track
  15. hand — help
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bound — obliged
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mate — a friend
  20. ground — crushed
  21. mate — to breed
  22. last — final
  23. track — a song
  24. tube — in a tire

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