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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. lie — to recline
  4. club — for dancing
  5. file — a tool
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. bat — the animal
  11. rash — a series
  12. deal — to handle
  13. file — a document
  14. mine — for digging
  15. club — a group
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. file — a line of people
  24. club — for golf

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