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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bound — obliged
  4. club — for golf
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. file — a tool
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bound — tied together
  11. snap — to click
  12. hand — help
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. hand — in cards
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — a tool
  18. club — a group
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bound — certain
  21. club — for dancing
  22. file — a document
  23. bear — the animal
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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