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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. file — a document
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. file — a tool
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. kid — to tease
  10. swing — in golf
  11. kid — child
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. game — a match
  16. swing — music
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. game — wild animals
  21. fork — in a road
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pound — to hit hard

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