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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. ground — a position
  3. fine — high quality
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. net — for catching
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. present — the time now
  9. file — a tool
  10. fine — all right
  11. net — in sport
  12. present — a gift
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. file — a document
  16. bulb — for light
  17. ground — crushed
  18. present — there
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bulb — for light
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. net — after costs
  24. mine — for digging

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