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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. kid — to tease
  3. track — a path
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cue — a signal
  6. file — a tool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. swing — in golf
  9. field — a subject
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. race — humankind
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. file — a line of people
  14. field — farmland
  15. track — a song
  16. cue — a hint
  17. race — a contest
  18. track — to keep track
  19. cue — for pool
  20. field — for sport
  21. race — the arms race
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. swing — music
  24. kid — child

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