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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. file — a tool
  6. mine — for digging
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. file — a line of people
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. roll — a cake
  12. file — a document
  13. wind — moving air
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. roll — a list
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pop — music
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pop — to visit
  23. plane — a tool
  24. nail — on a finger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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