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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wound — an injury
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wound — an injury
  7. tear — to rip
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. file — a line of people
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. last — to go on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a dance
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. file — a document
  24. racket — for tennis

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