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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. row — to paddle
  3. mate — a partner
  4. file — a document
  5. mug — a cup
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mate — a friend
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. mate — to breed
  11. file — a tool
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. row — a line
  16. vault — a safe
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mug — to rob
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mug — a face

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