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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ground — crushed
  3. foot — a measure
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. kid — to tease
  6. vault — a safe
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ground — the earth
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. file — a line of people
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. pitch — completely
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. kid — child
  16. file — a tool
  17. ball — a great time
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. prune — to trim
  21. file — a document
  22. ground — a position
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. pitch — a sports field

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