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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. ground — the earth
  3. file — a tool
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. ground — a position
  6. last — final
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. sharp — clever
  10. ground — crushed
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to sink
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. track — to keep track
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. track — a path
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a tree

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