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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. season — of the year
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. capital — money
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. ground — a position
  8. snap — to click
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. toast — bread
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. capital — a city
  13. season — in sport
  14. bulb — for light
  15. game — a match
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bulb — for light
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. ground — the earth
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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