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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. present — the time now
  4. hand — help
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mine — for digging
  7. hand — in cards
  8. present — a gift
  9. track — a song
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. perch — the fish
  15. present — there
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. file — a tool
  18. track — a path
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. track — to keep track

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