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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. file — a document
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pop — music
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. band — a ring
  13. pop — to visit
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pop — soda
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. band — a music group

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