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

Word bank: nail · bat · coach · bowl · last · ground · file · content

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. ground — a position
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. last — final
  6. content — happy
  7. ground — the earth
  8. last — finally
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bat — the animal
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. content — the amount
  16. file — a document
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. file — a line of people
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. last — to go on
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. file — a tool
  24. bat — for baseball

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