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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. ball — a great time
  3. staff — employees
  4. kid — child
  5. staff — a stick
  6. ball — a dance
  7. tear — to rip
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kid — to tease
  11. staff — employees
  12. hand — help
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. present — the time now
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. hand — in cards
  17. file — a line of people
  18. present — there
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. file — a tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. present — a gift

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