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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. perch — the fish
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. club — for dancing
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. file — a line of people
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. snap — to click
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. tube — a container
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — in football
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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