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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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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: rest · spell · ground · pop · board · chest · bear · mug

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spell — letters
  4. ground — a position
  5. rest — a break
  6. mug — a cup
  7. spell — magic
  8. pop — soda
  9. board — a committee
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mug — a face
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pop — to visit
  16. mug — to rob
  17. pop — music
  18. chest — a box
  19. bear — the animal
  20. board — to get on
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. spell — a short time

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