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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ground — crushed
  4. rock — music
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. file — a document
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cap — a hat
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cap — a lid
  11. rock — a stone
  12. ground — a position
  13. swing — music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cap — of ice
  16. swing — in golf
  17. drill — a practice
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. swing — to play on
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. file — a tool

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