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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. wind — moving air
  5. file — a line of people
  6. deal — to handle
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. rash — a series
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. file — a document
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. racket — for tennis

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