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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: sharp · wound · cap · stem · pit · spell · bowl · ground

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. ground — the earth
  3. spell — letters
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cap — a lid
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wound — an injury
  11. spell — magic
  12. cap — of ice
  13. pit — a hole
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. ground — a position
  17. sharp — clever
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. cap — a hat
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. sharp — with an edge

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