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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. spell — a short time
  3. object — to protest
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. shower — rain
  8. bat — the animal
  9. spring — of water
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stock — shares
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. object — an aim
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — letters
  22. ground — a position
  23. stock — goods
  24. object — a thing

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