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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. file — a line of people
  3. swing — to play on
  4. rash — a series
  5. mate — a friend
  6. file — a tool
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — music
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bark — to shout
  13. vault — a safe
  14. file — a document
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mate — a partner
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wound — an injury
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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