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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. file — a document
  3. court — of a king
  4. file — a line of people
  5. march — music
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bulb — for light
  9. net — for catching
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. march — the month
  12. net — after costs
  13. file — a tool
  14. net — in sport
  15. march — the month
  16. wound — an injury
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. bulb — for light
  20. court — for sport
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wound — an injury
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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