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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. file — a tool
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. wake — a trail
  14. file — a document
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. racket — for tennis

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