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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. perch — the fish
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. club — a group
  11. bat — the animal
  12. file — a tool
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tube — the underground
  15. club — for dancing
  16. tube — a container
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kid — to tease
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. club — for golf
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. dip — to sink

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