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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 120 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cell — a phone
  3. club — for dancing
  4. file — a tool
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. file — a document
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. club — for golf
  9. cell — in biology
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. club — a group
  14. kick — in football
  15. fine — high quality
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. fine — all right
  20. hand — help
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fork — in a road

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