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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. hand — help
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rash — a series
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. rash — hasty
  11. kid — to tease
  12. file — a tool
  13. bass — low music
  14. kid — child
  15. file — a line of people
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stand — to bear
  19. file — a document
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bass — the fish

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