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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 116 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  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. cell — a phone
  2. ground — a position
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cell — in biology
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. mine — for digging
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wake — a trail
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. band — a ring
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. file — a document
  17. ground — crushed
  18. file — a tool
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. band — a music group
  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