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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: capital · wound · rash · object · ground · file · fine · swing

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  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 — crushed
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wound — an injury
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. rash — hasty
  8. ground — the earth
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. swing — music
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. swing — to play on
  14. rash — a series
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. swing — in golf
  17. object — an aim
  18. ground — a position
  19. object — a thing
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — high quality
  23. object — to protest
  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