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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — a stone
  4. field — for sport
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. ground — a position
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. spring — the season
  17. field — a subject
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — farmland
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — in cards
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — completely
  24. hand — part of the body

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