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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 120 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. ground — the earth
  6. present — a gift
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. present — there
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. scale — in music
  12. foot — a measure
  13. ground — a position
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. file — a document
  16. present — the time now
  17. ground — crushed
  18. scale — size or range
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. branch — a division
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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