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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. spell — a short time
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. kid — child
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. spell — letters
  8. kid — to tease
  9. spell — magic
  10. file — a document
  11. fine — all right
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. race — humankind
  19. fine — high quality
  20. plane — a tool
  21. race — a contest
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mouse — the animal

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