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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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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. land — a country
  4. bat — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. present — there
  7. pass — a permit
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. present — the time now
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. present — a gift
  14. mark — a trace
  15. file — a tool
  16. land — to come down
  17. mark — a grade
  18. file — a document

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