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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. spell — a short time
  6. drill — a practice
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. drill — the tool
  9. ball — a dance
  10. chest — of your body
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bat — the animal
  13. spell — magic
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. file — a line of people
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. snap — to click
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. file — a document
  21. spell — letters
  22. ball — a great time
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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