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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. pop — soda
  5. field — farmland
  6. present — there
  7. kid — child
  8. clip — for paper
  9. present — the time now
  10. pop — music
  11. present — a gift
  12. file — a line of people
  13. firm — decided
  14. field — for sport
  15. firm — a company
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. clip — a video
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. clip — to cut
  21. firm — steady
  22. field — a subject
  23. pop — to visit
  24. kid — to tease

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