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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — a position
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. present — a gift
  6. row — a line
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. root — of a word
  10. wax — to grow
  11. file — a document
  12. present — there
  13. fine — high quality
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. file — a tool
  16. fine — all right
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. root — of a plant
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. root — the cause
  23. row — to paddle
  24. present — the time now

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