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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wax — to grow
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wound — an injury
  5. file — a document
  6. club — a group
  7. bank — for money
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bank — for money
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — hasty
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. file — a line of people
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bank — of a river
  19. fine — all right
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. club — for golf
  23. file — a tool
  24. kid — child

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