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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spell — letters
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ground — a position
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. can — a tin
  11. band — a ring
  12. can — a tin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hand — help
  15. spell — a short time
  16. hand — in cards
  17. can — to be able to
  18. band — a music group
  19. spell — magic
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wind — moving air
  22. last — finally
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hide — animal skin

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