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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spring — of water
  3. ground — a position
  4. bass — low music
  5. hand — help
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. spring — a coil
  9. can — a tin
  10. spring — the season
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. pitch — completely
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rule — government
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. can — a tin
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. bass — the fish
  20. can — to be able to
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. ground — the earth
  24. hand — in cards

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