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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — steady
  4. degree — from a university
  5. land — to come down
  6. foot — a measure
  7. ground — crushed
  8. firm — decided
  9. pit — in a race
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. pit — a hole
  12. file — a tool
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. file — a line of people
  15. ground — a position
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. degree — an amount
  22. file — a document
  23. land — a country
  24. ground — the earth

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