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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 124 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. ground — a position
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. net — in sport
  6. ground — crushed
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. net — for catching
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ground — the earth
  20. file — a tool
  21. rest — what's left
  22. net — after costs
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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