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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 116 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pop — to visit
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. file — a tool
  8. pop — music
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pop — soda
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ground — the earth
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. kid — child
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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