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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 120 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: pit · object · shower · pop · file · hand · ground · coach

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. ground — crushed
  3. object — to protest
  4. shower — to wash
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pop — to visit
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. hand — help
  10. pit — in a race
  11. ground — a position
  12. object — an aim
  13. file — a tool
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. file — a line of people
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. shower — rain
  19. pit — a hole
  20. object — a thing
  21. pop — music
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pop — soda
  24. file — a document

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