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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  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. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. file — a tool
  4. ground — crushed
  5. file — a document
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. land — a country
  9. file — a line of people
  10. ground — a position
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. saw — the tool
  13. land — to come down
  14. saw — the tool
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. march — the month
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. board — to get on
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. board — a committee
  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