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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. court — for sport
  3. file — a document
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. present — the time now
  8. file — a line of people
  9. season — in sport
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. rock — a stone
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. season — of the year
  15. snap — to click
  16. rock — music
  17. spell — letters
  18. court — of a king
  19. present — there
  20. court — of law
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wake — a trail
  24. present — a gift

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