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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bat — the animal
  4. ground — a position
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. pop — music
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pop — soda
  14. season — of the year
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. season — in sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pass — a permit
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — a grade

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