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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. present — a gift
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. board — to get on
  10. bat — the animal
  11. present — there
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. saw — the tool
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. cap — a hat
  20. file — a tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. present — the time now
  23. file — a line of people
  24. 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