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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 120 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 piece is in a major ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. dip — to sink
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. object — to protest
  6. file — a line of people
  7. object — a thing
  8. ground — a position
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bat — the animal
  12. object — an aim
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. file — a tool
  16. key — the most important part
  17. court — of a king
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. court — for sport
  20. file — a document
  21. ground — crushed
  22. key — for a lock
  23. court — of law
  24. mine — for digging

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