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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. fine — all right
  3. mate — a partner
  4. firm — a company
  5. file — a line of people
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fine — high quality
  8. file — a tool
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. track — a path
  11. mate — a friend
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. firm — decided
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rest — a break
  16. track — to keep track
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wind — moving air
  21. firm — steady
  22. file — a document
  23. track — a song
  24. rest — what's left

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