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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. mate — a friend
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. ground — a position
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. wind — moving air
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mate — to breed
  9. ground — crushed
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rock — a stone
  13. file — a document
  14. fine — all right
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ground — the earth
  17. mate — a partner
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. file — a tool
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. fine — high quality
  22. hand — help
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. safe — out of danger

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