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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. file — a tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. chest — a box
  8. squash — to crush
  9. kick — in football
  10. file — a document
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. game — wild animals
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. game — a match

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