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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 116 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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. file — a document
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. ground — crushed
  6. rest — a break
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rest — what's left
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rest — what's left
  16. ball — a great time
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — hasty
  20. deal — to handle
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. file — a tool
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wind — moving air

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