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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. ground — crushed
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. mine — for digging
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pit — a hole
  10. ground — a position
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ball — a great time
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. press — a publisher
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. press — to push
  23. deal — to handle
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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