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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: rash · ground · suit · march · kid · file · spell · mine

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. ground — a position
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. suit — clothes
  6. kid — child
  7. suit — to fit
  8. march — music
  9. spell — letters
  10. file — a document
  11. spell — a short time
  12. ground — the earth
  13. spell — magic
  14. ground — crushed
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. march — the month
  17. rash — a series
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. suit — in cards
  20. kid — to tease
  21. file — a line of people
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. file — a tool
  24. mine — for digging

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