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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. season — in sport
  6. content — the amount
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. track — a song
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. track — a path
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. content — happy
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. sharp — clever
  22. deal — to handle
  23. track — to keep track
  24. snap — to click

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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