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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. content — happy
  3. bound — tied together
  4. ground — the earth
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rash — a series
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. ground — crushed
  10. spring — the season
  11. bound — obliged
  12. ball — a great time
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. roll — a list
  18. spring — a coil
  19. content — the amount
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. spring — of water
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bound — certain

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