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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. shower — rain
  3. spell — magic
  4. file — a document
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. mine — for digging
  7. spell — letters
  8. rest — a break
  9. mug — a face
  10. ground — a position
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. mug — to rob
  15. rest — what's left
  16. ground — the earth
  17. spell — a short time
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. file — a tool
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mug — a cup
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. file — a line of people

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