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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.

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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. file — a line of people
  3. game — a match
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. file — a document
  10. mug — a cup
  11. file — a tool
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mug — a face
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. craft — a skill
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — boats
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. scale — in music
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. scale — size or range

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