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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 120 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bound — obliged
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pass — a permit
  9. bound — certain
  10. wind — moving air
  11. present — the time now
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. present — a gift
  14. fine — all right
  15. wind — moving air
  16. present — there
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fine — high quality
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. ground — a position
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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