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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. file — a tool
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. current — electric
  6. bank — for money
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — of water
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. hand — help
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bank — for money
  14. game — a match
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. file — a document
  17. bank — of a river
  18. file — a line of people
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. hand — in cards

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