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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chip — to eat
  4. file — a tool
  5. game — a match
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. season — in sport
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. prune — to trim
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. chip — for betting
  12. rest — what's left
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. rest — a break
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. game — wild animals
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. season — of the year

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