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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. game — wild animals
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. file — a line of people
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. mine — for digging
  11. can — a tin
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. hand — help
  14. lean — to bend
  15. file — a tool
  16. hand — in cards
  17. lean — thin
  18. kick — in football
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. game — a match
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. kick — with a leg

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