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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. kid — child
  5. ground — a position
  6. field — farmland
  7. court — of a king
  8. field — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. court — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. bass — the fish
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — certain
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ground — the earth
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bass — low music
  23. bound — tied together
  24. kid — to tease

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