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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spell — letters
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. suit — in cards
  6. bass — low music
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. spring — the season
  11. ground — a position
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spring — a coil
  14. suit — to fit
  15. spell — magic
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bat — the animal
  19. suit — clothes
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pitch — completely
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spring — of water
  24. bat — in an idiom

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