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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. clip — to cut
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — a video
  12. pit — a hole
  13. ball — a dance
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lean — to bend
  17. ball — a great time
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ground — a position
  20. pit — in a race
  21. lean — thin
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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