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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. can — a tin
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. clip — to cut
  6. can — to be able to
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. file — a line of people
  9. mug — a face
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. clip — a video
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. can — a tin
  16. vault — a safe
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mug — to rob
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. fork — in a road
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fork — a garden tool

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