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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 116 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — the fish
  7. ground — the earth
  8. file — a tool
  9. mark — a trace
  10. file — a line of people
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. tear — from crying
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. file — a document
  16. ground — crushed
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. mark — a grade
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. tear — from crying
  22. vault — a safe
  23. tear — to rip
  24. racket — for tennis

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