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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. court — for sport
  3. file — a document
  4. court — of law
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. tube — a container
  9. file — a line of people
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mark — a trace
  13. file — a tool
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bass — low music
  17. cap — of ice
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. tube — the underground
  20. court — of a king
  21. bass — the fish
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rash — a series

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