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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cap — of ice
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. file — a line of people
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. ground — a position
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cap — a hat
  22. file — a document
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. racket — a loud noise

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