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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. ground — the earth
  4. content — the amount
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. hand — help
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spring — a coil
  14. hand — in cards
  15. spring — of water
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. content — happy
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. chair — a leader
  22. spring — the season
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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