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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 116 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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a document
  3. march — music
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. file — a line of people
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rest — a break
  10. march — the month
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. hand — in cards
  15. spring — of water
  16. hand — help
  17. rest — what's left
  18. march — the month
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spring — a coil
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. spring — the season

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