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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. drill — a practice
  4. file — a document
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. file — a line of people
  8. kid — child
  9. stand — to bear
  10. ground — the earth
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. kid — to tease
  13. tube — the underground
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — the cause
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. drill — army training
  18. ground — a position
  19. file — a tool
  20. root — of a plant
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. tube — a container
  24. drill — the tool

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