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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 120 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. ground — a position
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. ground — crushed
  17. content — the amount
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. pound — a weight
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. content — happy

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