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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. ground — a position
  3. file — a tool
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. stock — goods
  6. last — finally
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. chair — a leader
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. ground — the earth
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. pound — a weight
  13. stock — shares
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. file — a line of people
  16. ground — crushed
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. last — final
  21. fork — in a road
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. file — a document

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