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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. rock — music
  4. mate — to breed
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. ground — a position
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. toast — bread
  10. rock — a stone
  11. ground — the earth
  12. dip — to sink
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. game — wild animals
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. mate — a friend
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. game — a match
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mate — a partner
  24. rock — to move gently

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