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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. ground — the earth
  5. fork — in a road
  6. spell — magic
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. content — happy
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. ground — crushed
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. game — wild animals
  13. spell — letters
  14. vault — a safe
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. game — a match
  19. spell — a short time
  20. rash — a series
  21. content — the amount
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. rash — hasty
  24. content — videos and posts

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