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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. club — for golf
  8. file — a line of people
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. last — to go on
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. club — for dancing
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. last — finally
  16. file — a document
  17. last — final
  18. degree — from a university
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. club — a group
  23. degree — temperature
  24. nail — for a hammer

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