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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. kick — in football
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. file — a document
  13. spell — letters
  14. shower — to wash
  15. track — a song
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. spell — a short time
  18. file — a tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spell — magic
  22. file — a line of people
  23. shower — rain
  24. pitcher — a jug

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