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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. saw — the tool
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. file — a tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. file — a document
  9. last — final
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — completely
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. file — a line of people
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. last — finally
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — to go on
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. ground — crushed
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. toast — bread
  24. chest — of your body

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