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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The kitten curled into 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. row — a quarrel
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. field — a subject
  5. ball — a dance
  6. field — for sport
  7. can — to be able to
  8. file — a document
  9. can — a tin
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. can — a tin
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. file — a tool
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. ball — a great time
  20. row — to paddle
  21. field — farmland
  22. row — a line
  23. ball — a round shape
  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