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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: can · file · chest · mine · spring · ground · saw · pitcher

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spring — the season
  3. ground — a position
  4. file — a document
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. saw — the tool
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. spring — of water
  10. ground — the earth
  11. can — a tin
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. saw — the tool
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chest — a box
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. chest — of your body
  19. can — a tin
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. can — to be able to

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