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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. file — a document
  6. hand — help
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. file — a tool
  9. lean — thin
  10. hand — in cards
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. lean — to bend
  16. capital — money
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pop — soda
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. deal — to handle
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — music
  24. capital — a city

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