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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. ground — a position
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. face — to confront
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. drill — the tool
  8. perch — the fish
  9. key — for a lock
  10. ground — the earth
  11. file — a line of people
  12. face — part of the head
  13. file — a tool
  14. key — the most important part
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. face — to point toward
  20. file — a document
  21. drill — a practice
  22. key — in music
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. drill — army training

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