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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. file — a tool
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mine — for digging
  9. chest — a box
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. pop — music
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. pound — a weight
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wound — an injury

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