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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: file · ground · lie · mine · mark · season · racket · sharp

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. file — a document
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. file — a line of people
  5. sharp — clever
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. ground — a position
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. ground — crushed
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. mark — a trace
  16. ground — the earth
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. season — in sport
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mark — a grade
  21. lie — to recline
  22. file — a tool
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. season — of the year

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