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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. game — a match
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. can — a tin
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. row — to paddle
  12. file — a document
  13. row — a line
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. can — a tin
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wax — to grow
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. file — a line of people
  22. hand — help
  23. file — a tool
  24. can — to be able to

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