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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. firm — steady
  3. wound — an injury
  4. key — for a lock
  5. track — to keep track
  6. land — ground
  7. key — the most important part
  8. pound — a weight
  9. land — to come down
  10. track — a song
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. ground — crushed
  13. land — a country
  14. firm — a company
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. branch — a division
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ground — the earth
  19. key — in music
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. firm — decided
  22. track — a path
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pound — to hit hard

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