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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: bear · ground · pit · file · fine · drill · pitcher · tear

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bear — the animal
  3. file — a document
  4. pit — in a race
  5. file — a tool
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. fine — all right
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bear — the animal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ground — a position
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fine — high quality
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. drill — army training
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. drill — a practice

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