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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. ground — a position
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rash — a series
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. can — to be able to
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. can — a tin
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. file — a document
  17. can — a tin
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rash — hasty
  20. file — a tool
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bat — the animal

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