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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. file — a line of people
  4. ball — a dance
  5. race — the arms race
  6. swing — to play on
  7. race — a contest
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wind — moving air
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. shower — rain
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. file — a tool
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. race — humankind
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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