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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mug — to rob
  3. court — for sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of law
  6. present — there
  7. march — the month
  8. face — to confront
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. ground — the earth
  11. face — part of the head
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. face — to point toward
  14. tear — to rip
  15. march — the month
  16. tear — from crying
  17. court — of a king
  18. ground — a position
  19. mug — a cup
  20. present — the time now
  21. mug — a face
  22. march — music
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. present — a gift

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