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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: saw · mouse · march · file · spring · ground · rock · cabinet

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. spring — of water
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. march — the month
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. ground — a position
  15. spring — the season
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rock — music
  23. file — a document
  24. ground — the earth

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