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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 120 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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. kid — to tease
  4. file — a document
  5. mate — a partner
  6. hand — help
  7. mate — a friend
  8. game — a match
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. tube — a container
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. file — a line of people
  14. game — wild animals
  15. mate — to breed
  16. tube — the underground
  17. kid — child
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. file — a tool
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. game — a kind of play

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