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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. net — in sport
  3. ground — a position
  4. net — after costs
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pit — in a race
  8. net — for catching
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pit — a hole
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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