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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. file — a document
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bat — the animal
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. tube — a container
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. file — a tool
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. file — a line of people
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rash — hasty
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. perch — for a bird

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