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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. track — to keep track
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cold — not warm
  8. file — a tool
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. file — a document
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. track — a path
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. ground — the earth
  17. track — a song
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. ground — a position
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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