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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. scale — in music
  5. ground — a position
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. scale — size or range
  9. file — a line of people
  10. tear — to rip
  11. file — a document
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. file — a tool
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — rain
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. tear — from crying
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. ground — crushed
  23. tear — from crying
  24. nail — on a finger

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