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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chip — for betting
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chip — to eat
  8. file — a document
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hand — help
  11. tube — the underground
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. file — a tool
  14. fall — to drop
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. fall — to drop
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. bear — the animal
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. file — a line of people

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