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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. ground — a position
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. race — the arms race
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. spell — letters
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. spell — a short time
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. ground — the earth
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pitch — completely
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. spell — magic
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. season — in sport
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ground — crushed
  24. season — of the year

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