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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pass — a permit
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. file — a tool
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. track — to keep track
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. file — a line of people
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. tube — the underground
  14. kid — child
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. track — a song
  17. toast — bread
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. tube — a container
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. file — a document
  22. deal — to handle
  23. track — a path
  24. toast — the most admired

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