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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. ground — a position
  4. file — a document
  5. face — part of the head
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. file — a tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. capital — a city
  13. file — a line of people
  14. ground — crushed
  15. face — to point toward
  16. capital — money
  17. ground — the earth
  18. face — to confront
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — for betting
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. track — to keep track
  24. chip — to eat

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