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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. land — to come down
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. ground — a position
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. file — a tool
  8. land — ground
  9. charge — electricity
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. stock — shares
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. land — a country
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bear — the animal
  17. ground — crushed
  18. charge — a price
  19. file — a document
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bear — the animal
  24. charge — in control

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