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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.

Make a worksheet

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: ground · ball · pound · press · mine · file · mark · racket

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a trace
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. press — to push
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a dance
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. ground — a position
  14. press — newspapers
  15. file — a tool
  16. pound — a weight
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. ground — the earth
  24. press — a publisher

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