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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. mine — for digging
  3. fall — the season
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. file — a tool
  7. ground — crushed
  8. file — a document
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. fall — to drop
  11. ground — the earth
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. fall — to drop
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. board — to get on
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. saw — the tool
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. board — a committee
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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