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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. bass — low music
  5. net — after costs
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. ground — a position
  8. field — for sport
  9. bore — to tire
  10. key — for a lock
  11. bass — the fish
  12. key — in music
  13. lean — to bend
  14. net — for catching
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bore — to drill
  18. field — a subject
  19. bound — obliged
  20. key — the most important part
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. net — in sport
  23. field — farmland
  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