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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. net — after costs
  3. capital — money
  4. bound — certain
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. ground — crushed
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. drill — army training
  10. mark — a grade
  11. drill — the tool
  12. net — for catching
  13. file — a document
  14. net — in sport
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bound — obliged
  18. capital — a city
  19. drill — a practice
  20. ground — the earth
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bound — tied together
  24. mark — to pay attention

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