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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. ground — crushed
  6. rule — government
  7. last — to go on
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. sharp — clever
  11. ground — a position
  12. field — farmland
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. last — finally
  18. field — for sport
  19. rule — a law
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. last — final
  24. field — a subject

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