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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. ground — a position
  3. rock — music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ground — crushed
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rock — a stone
  11. ball — a dance
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. ball — a great time
  16. clip — a video
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. pitch — completely
  19. file — a document
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mine — for digging

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