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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 116 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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. field — farmland
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wake — a trail
  7. field — a subject
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. last — to go on
  10. ground — a position
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. perch — the fish
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. field — for sport
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. content — happy

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