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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wind — moving air
  3. craft — boats
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. ground — crushed
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. file — a document
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. file — a tool
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. craft — a skill
  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