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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mate — a partner
  3. file — a tool
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. file — a document
  8. mate — a friend
  9. degree — temperature
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. degree — an amount
  12. file — a line of people
  13. mate — to breed
  14. degree — from a university
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bear — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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