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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. ground — the earth
  4. file — a tool
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. net — after costs
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mine — for digging
  11. net — in sport
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. ground — a position
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. file — a document
  17. dip — to sink
  18. net — for catching

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