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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. season — of the year
  3. firm — a company
  4. club — for dancing
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. clip — to cut
  8. club — for golf
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. firm — decided
  11. stock — shares
  12. track — a song
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pound — a weight
  15. ground — the earth
  16. firm — steady
  17. clip — for paper
  18. season — in sport
  19. track — a path
  20. clip — a video
  21. track — to keep track
  22. stock — goods
  23. club — a group
  24. pound — to hit hard

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