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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ground — crushed
  4. date — the fruit
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. mark — a trace
  7. file — a document
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. file — a line of people
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. file — a tool
  15. mark — a grade
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position

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