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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. track — a song
  5. staff — a stick
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. track — a path
  9. face — part of the head
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — the season
  12. face — to confront
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. shower — to wash
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. staff — employees
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. ground — a position
  21. face — to point toward
  22. staff — employees
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. shower — rain

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