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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bear — the animal
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a hat
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. ground — a position
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. ground — the earth
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. present — there
  20. present — a gift
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a song
  23. present — the time now
  24. bear — the animal

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