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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a line of people
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. capital — money
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. capital — a city
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. ground — the earth
  17. spell — letters
  18. last — final
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. file — a tool
  22. spell — magic
  23. mine — for digging
  24. spell — a short time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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