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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. row — a line
  3. ground — the earth
  4. file — a line of people
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. file — a document
  11. bear — the animal
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bear — the animal
  14. content — happy
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. ground — crushed
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. ground — a position
  21. snap — to click
  22. pitch — completely
  23. row — to paddle
  24. content — the amount

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