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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. file — a tool
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. march — the month
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wound — an injury
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. file — a document
  10. wound — an injury
  11. file — a line of people
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — help
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — a trace
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. foot — a measure
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. hand — part of the body

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