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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — crushed
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. file — a line of people
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. stand — to bear
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. file — a tool
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. file — a document
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. ground — a position
  21. band — a ring
  22. kid — child
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. band — a music group

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