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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 124 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. lean — to bend
  6. fine — all right
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. fine — high quality
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. lean — thin
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bear — the animal
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. ground — a position
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ground — the earth

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