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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. band — a music group
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. file — a document
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. file — a tool
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. kid — to tease
  11. row — to paddle
  12. file — a line of people
  13. deal — to handle
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. game — wild animals
  17. kid — child
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. game — a match
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. row — a line
  24. band — a ring

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