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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — the earth
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. ground — crushed
  6. file — a tool
  7. net — in sport
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. march — music
  16. net — after costs
  17. file — a document
  18. craft — boats
  19. wax — to grow
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. march — the month
  22. net — for catching
  23. pitch — completely
  24. craft — a skill

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