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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. content — the amount
  8. last — final
  9. ground — crushed
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. last — finally
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. content — happy
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a dance
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. ground — a position
  22. last — to go on
  23. rash — a series
  24. ball — a great time

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