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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. tear — from crying
  4. court — of a king
  5. snap — to click
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mate — a friend
  9. content — happy
  10. ground — a position
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. court — for sport
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. tear — to rip
  18. content — the amount
  19. wake — a trail
  20. mate — a partner
  21. court — of law
  22. ground — the earth
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mate — to breed

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