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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. ground — a position
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. file — a tool
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bore — to tire
  14. ground — the earth
  15. file — a document
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. ground — crushed
  18. date — the fruit
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — hurry
  22. bore — to drill
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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