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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. drill — the tool
  5. mug — a face
  6. file — a line of people
  7. drill — army training
  8. pop — music
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mug — a cup
  13. land — a country
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pitch — completely
  16. file — a tool
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. mug — to rob
  19. land — to come down
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. file — a document
  22. pop — soda
  23. ground — a position
  24. land — ground

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