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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. file — a tool
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wake — a trail
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rush — hurry
  10. hand — in cards
  11. deal — to handle
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. file — a document
  17. ground — the earth
  18. game — wild animals
  19. hand — help
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. ground — a position

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