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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.

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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. ball — a great time
  8. file — a document
  9. bulb — for light
  10. face — part of the head
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. ball — a dance
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. hand — help
  16. mate — a friend
  17. face — to confront
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. face — to point toward
  21. file — a line of people
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wake — a trail

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