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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 walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. pitch — completely
  3. staff — a stick
  4. chest — a box
  5. ground — crushed
  6. game — a match
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. staff — employees
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — wild animals
  17. stand — to bear
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bark — to shout
  22. ground — a position
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. staff — employees

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