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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. club — for dancing
  3. kid — to tease
  4. spell — magic
  5. club — a group
  6. track — a song
  7. file — a tool
  8. kid — child
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — all right
  14. file — a line of people
  15. can — to be able to
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a path
  19. fine — high quality
  20. spell — a short time
  21. club — for golf
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. file — a document

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