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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. file — a tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kid — child
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. spell — a short time
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. tear — from crying
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. kid — to tease
  12. game — a match
  13. spell — magic
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. spell — letters
  17. sharp — clever
  18. game — wild animals
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. board — to get on
  21. tear — to rip
  22. board — a committee
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. file — a line of people

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