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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cell — in biology
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. mark — a grade
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. file — a document
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. kid — child
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cell — a phone
  19. file — a line of people
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. chip — to eat
  22. mark — a trace
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bat — 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