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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 116 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 · bat · pitcher · mouse · hand · bowl · tube · file

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. hand — in cards
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. hand — help
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. file — a tool
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. ground — the earth
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tube — a container
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. bat — the animal
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. file — a document
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. file — a line of people

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