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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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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. club — for dancing
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rash — a series
  8. spring — of water
  9. board — a committee
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rash — hasty
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. club — a group
  17. scale — in music
  18. board — to get on
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. spring — the season
  22. club — for golf
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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