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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. game — a match
  3. ground — a position
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. game — wild animals
  10. ball — a dance
  11. prune — to trim
  12. content — happy
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ground — the earth
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. shower — rain
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. content — the amount
  20. ball — a great time
  21. pound — a weight
  22. ground — crushed
  23. shower — to wash
  24. prune — the fruit

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