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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. chest — of your body
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. chest — a box
  10. mine — for digging
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. chest — of your body

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