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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. wind — moving air
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mate — a friend
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rush — hurry
  14. stand — to bear
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — to breed
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. scale — in music
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. ground — the earth

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