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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. file — a line of people
  9. land — to come down
  10. file — a tool
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. land — a country
  13. bass — low music
  14. band — a music group
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. land — ground
  19. ground — the earth
  20. band — a ring
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. ground — a position
  23. bass — the fish
  24. file — a document

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