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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cell — in biology
  9. file — a document
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. club — for golf
  12. saw — the tool
  13. file — a tool
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. lean — thin
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. lean — to bend
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. cell — a phone
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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