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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. ground — crushed
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. object — an aim
  5. file — a tool
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. object — a thing
  11. mug — to rob
  12. content — the amount
  13. rush — hurry
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. last — finally
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. file — a document
  18. ground — the earth
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. lie — to recline
  21. content — happy
  22. mug — a cup
  23. object — to protest
  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