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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. suit — in cards
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. file — a tool
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. capital — money
  9. file — a line of people
  10. scale — in music
  11. fall — the season
  12. suit — to fit
  13. suit — clothes
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. fall — to drop
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. file — a document
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. scale — size or range
  24. capital — a city

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