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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. season — of the year
  6. clip — a video
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. ground — a position
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. roll — a list
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. sharp — clever
  17. season — in sport
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. roll — a cake
  20. bound — tied together
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — certain
  24. ground — the earth

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