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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 124 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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ground — a position
  5. face — to confront
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bear — the animal
  11. content — the amount
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. face — to point toward
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. content — happy
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. ground — the earth
  24. face — part of the head

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