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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. ground — the earth
  4. file — a document
  5. mark — a grade
  6. spring — of water
  7. mine — for digging
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. ground — a position
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. tube — the underground
  20. mark — a trace
  21. spring — the season
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bat — for baseball

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