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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 124 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lie — to recline
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — a group
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. file — a tool
  10. pop — to visit
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pop — soda
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. club — for golf
  15. pop — music
  16. craft — boats
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. file — a document
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. game — a match
  23. file — a line of people
  24. craft — a skill

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