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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. ground — crushed
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. charge — in control
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. wind — moving air
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. charge — electricity
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pop — music
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. squash — to crush
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pop — soda
  18. wind — moving air
  19. net — after costs
  20. pop — to visit
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. charge — a price
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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