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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 124 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. staff — employees
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ground — the earth
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. present — a gift
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bank — of a river
  10. staff — employees
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. shower — rain
  14. field — for sport
  15. bank — for money
  16. file — a document
  17. present — the time now
  18. field — farmland
  19. staff — a stick
  20. present — there
  21. field — a subject
  22. ground — a position
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bank — for money

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