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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. cell — a phone
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fine — all right
  7. squash — to crush
  8. ground — a position
  9. mug — a face
  10. cell — in biology
  11. mug — to rob
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. season — in sport
  16. mug — a cup
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. ground — the earth
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. capital — a city
  23. season — of the year
  24. pass — a permit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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