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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. track — a song
  5. file — a document
  6. track — to keep track
  7. suit — to fit
  8. land — to come down
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. scale — size or range
  12. track — a path
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. land — a country
  15. file — a line of people
  16. suit — in cards
  17. shower — rain
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. shower — to wash
  21. land — ground
  22. scale — in music
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. file — a tool

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