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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bank — for money
  4. key — the most important part
  5. row — to paddle
  6. game — a match
  7. file — a document
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. squash — to crush
  10. key — for a lock
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. row — a line
  13. kid — child
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. key — in music
  17. squash — the sport
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. content — the amount
  20. bank — for money
  21. game — wild animals
  22. file — a tool
  23. bank — of a river
  24. content — happy

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