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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. file — a document
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. spell — a short time
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pop — soda
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pop — to visit
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pop — music
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. file — a tool

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