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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rush — hurry
  3. file — a tool
  4. pop — to visit
  5. snap — to click
  6. pop — soda
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. file — a document
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. branch — a division
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pop — music
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rush — a thrill

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