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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. ground — crushed
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. net — after costs
  5. ground — the earth
  6. court — of law
  7. ground — a position
  8. court — of a king
  9. file — a document
  10. net — in sport
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. chip — to eat
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. capital — money
  19. net — for catching
  20. capital — a city
  21. vault — a safe
  22. file — a tool
  23. court — for sport
  24. plane — a tool

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