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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. march — music
  3. file — a document
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. content — happy
  7. wake — a trail
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. rest — what's left
  10. ball — a great time
  11. spell — letters
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. march — the month
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. spell — a short time
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. march — the month
  18. rest — a break
  19. file — a line of people
  20. ball — a dance
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. content — the amount
  24. spell — magic

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