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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. club — for dancing
  4. ground — a position
  5. mark — a grade
  6. ground — crushed
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. ground — the earth
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mark — a trace
  13. club — a group
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. fine — all right
  17. season — of the year
  18. dip — to sink
  19. club — for golf
  20. file — a document
  21. scale — in music
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. fine — high quality
  24. scale — size or range

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