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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. can — to be able to
  6. file — a document
  7. rock — music
  8. tear — to rip
  9. kid — child
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. hand — help
  13. can — a tin
  14. chip — for betting
  15. file — a tool
  16. can — a tin
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rock — a stone
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bat — the animal
  24. chip — to eat

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