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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spell — a short time
  3. saw — the tool
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. saw — the tool
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. season — in sport
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. current — happening now
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. spell — magic
  12. ground — a position
  13. current — of water
  14. kid — child
  15. current — electric
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. spell — letters
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. season — of the year

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