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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. present — there
  3. drill — the tool
  4. ground — the earth
  5. net — after costs
  6. ground — a position
  7. file — a tool
  8. present — the time now
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. drill — army training
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. present — a gift
  14. drill — a practice
  15. file — a document
  16. net — in sport
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pitch — completely

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