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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. cold — not warm
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cold — an illness
  6. game — a match
  7. track — a song
  8. game — wild animals
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. rock — music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. track — a path
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. prune — to trim
  23. track — to keep track
  24. prune — to trim

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