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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. wax — to grow
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. mine — for digging
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rush — hurry
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. file — a document
  14. swing — in golf
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — to eat
  17. squash — the sport
  18. file — a tool
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mine — belonging to me

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