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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — a weight
  7. swing — in golf
  8. kid — child
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. land — a country
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. kid — to tease
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bat — the animal
  17. swing — music
  18. land — ground
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wake — a trail
  21. land — to come down
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. file — a tool
  24. swing — to play on

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