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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. firm — a company
  3. kid — child
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. present — a gift
  7. spring — of water
  8. present — there
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. spring — the season
  14. fork — in a road
  15. ground — a position
  16. mine — for digging
  17. firm — steady
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. firm — decided
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. ground — the earth
  23. present — the time now
  24. mine — an explosive

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