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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. file — a tool
  3. kid — child
  4. pound — a weight
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. file — a line of people
  7. track — a song
  8. kid — to tease
  9. track — a path
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. rash — hasty
  12. roll — a cake
  13. file — a document
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. track — to keep track
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. bulb — for light
  19. roll — a list
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. rash — a series
  24. bulb — of a plant

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