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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. ground — a position
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bat — the animal
  6. ground — crushed
  7. last — finally
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. last — to go on
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — of a plant
  13. pop — to visit
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. pop — soda
  16. perch — the fish
  17. ground — the earth
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pit — in a race
  21. deal — to handle
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. root — the cause
  24. pop — music

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