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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. present — a gift
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ball — a great time
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. file — a document
  7. game — a match
  8. present — the time now
  9. ball — a dance
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. drill — the tool
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. present — there
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. drill — army training
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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