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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mark — a trace
  6. bank — for money
  7. game — a match
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. game — wild animals
  10. file — a tool
  11. bank — of a river
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mark — a grade
  14. bank — for money
  15. file — a line of people
  16. chest — a box
  17. rush — hurry
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pitch — completely
  24. file — a document

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