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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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Word bank
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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. present — the time now
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. land — to come down
  12. present — there
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. present — a gift
  16. ground — the earth
  17. land — a country
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ground — a position
  20. wind — moving air
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. land — ground
  23. last — to go on
  24. kick — in football

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