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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. hand — help
  3. saw — the tool
  4. game — wild animals
  5. file — a tool
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. file — a line of people
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. band — a music group
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. kid — child
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. kid — to tease
  16. hand — in cards
  17. game — a match
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. band — a ring
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hand — part of the 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