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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. net — after costs
  3. mark — a grade
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. net — for catching
  8. pit — in a race
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. net — in sport
  11. ground — crushed
  12. file — a tool
  13. sharp — clever
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mark — a trace
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — a position
  21. file — a document
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. file — a line of people

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