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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. file — a line of people
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. clip — a video
  12. content — the amount
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. ball — a great time
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. kid — to tease
  21. file — a document
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. clip — for paper

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