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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pound — a weight
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. track — to keep track
  13. file — a line of people
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ground — the earth
  16. track — a song
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. track — a path
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. face — to confront
  23. row — a line
  24. ball — a round shape

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