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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: ground · saw · track · kid · bore · file · chair · bulb

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bulb — for light
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bulb — for light
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bore — to tire
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. track — to keep track
  15. file — a line of people
  16. kid — child
  17. chair — a leader
  18. saw — the tool
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. file — a document
  22. saw — the tool
  23. ground — a position
  24. file — a tool

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