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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. game — wild animals
  5. file — a tool
  6. spring — of water
  7. ground — a position
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. ground — the earth
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. march — the month
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. spring — the season
  14. file — a document
  15. spring — a coil
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. game — a match
  20. ground — crushed
  21. snap — to click
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. date — the fruit

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