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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. file — a tool
  3. march — music
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. scale — in music
  6. hand — in cards
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. cap — of ice
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cap — a lid
  17. scale — size or range
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. file — a document
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. kick — in football
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cap — a hat

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