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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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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. file — a tool
  8. rest — a break
  9. file — a document
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. rest — what's left
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mine — for digging

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