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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. mate — a partner
  3. ground — a position
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. file — a tool
  8. rule — a law
  9. wind — moving air
  10. file — a line of people
  11. net — for catching
  12. mate — to breed
  13. game — wild animals
  14. ground — crushed
  15. game — a match
  16. wind — moving air
  17. vault — a safe
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rule — government
  20. net — after costs
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. file — a document
  24. ground — the earth

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