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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 124 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. ground — a position
  3. file — a document
  4. deal — to handle
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. file — a line of people
  7. ground — crushed
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. hand — help
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. date — the fruit
  15. hand — in cards
  16. ground — the earth
  17. scale — size or range
  18. file — a tool
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. scale — in music
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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