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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chip — to eat
  4. net — for catching
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. net — after costs
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. row — a line
  10. file — a tool
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. ball — a dance
  18. net — in sport
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. ball — a great time

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