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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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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 · court · mine · file · present · bay · chip · cap

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. file — a tool
  3. present — a gift
  4. file — a document
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — for betting
  14. present — there
  15. cap — of ice
  16. ground — the earth
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. present — the time now
  19. ground — a position
  20. file — a line of people
  21. court — for sport
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bay — a horse colour

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