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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. file — a document
  3. net — after costs
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ground — crushed
  10. squash — to crush
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. file — a tool
  14. ground — the earth
  15. staff — a stick
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. ground — a position
  23. staff — employees
  24. trunk — of a tree

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