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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rest — what's left
  10. hand — help
  11. mine — for digging
  12. tube — a container
  13. game — wild animals
  14. file — a tool
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. tube — the underground
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cap — of ice
  21. game — a match
  22. cap — a hat
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cap — a lid

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