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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. spell — a short time
  4. file — a tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. last — to go on
  8. fine — all right
  9. prune — to trim
  10. game — a match
  11. file — a document
  12. club — a group
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spell — letters
  15. fine — high quality
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. club — for golf
  18. last — final
  19. spell — magic
  20. club — for dancing
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. last — finally
  23. game — wild animals
  24. nail — for a hammer

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