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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.

Make a worksheet

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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. file — a tool
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. land — a country
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. mine — for digging
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pitch — completely
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. file — a document
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. land — ground
  20. file — a line of people
  21. saw — the tool
  22. land — to come down
  23. rush — hurry
  24. saw — past of 'see'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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