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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 120 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. march — the month
  5. file — a line of people
  6. ball — a dance
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pitch — completely
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. file — a tool
  17. march — the month
  18. snap — to click
  19. ball — a great time
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. file — a document
  22. ground — crushed
  23. kick — in football
  24. march — music

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