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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · ground · wave · content · chair · spring · pass · pitcher

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. spring — a coil
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spring — of water
  7. game — a match
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. content — happy
  11. ground — a position
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. spring — the season
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. game — wild animals
  22. ground — crushed
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pitcher — a jug

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