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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a great time
  3. file — a tool
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. drill — army training
  8. file — a document
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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