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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bass — low music
  4. march — the month
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. file — a tool
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. mark — a grade
  10. ground — a position
  11. bass — the fish
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mark — a trace
  18. ground — the earth
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. file — a document
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. plane — a tool
  24. mark — to pay attention

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