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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. spring — the season
  4. swing — in golf
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. game — wild animals
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. swing — music
  11. object — to protest
  12. hand — help
  13. object — a thing
  14. file — a tool
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. file — a document
  17. object — an aim
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. swing — to play on
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. spring — a coil
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. spring — of water
  24. game — a match

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