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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 116 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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. file — a line of people
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. kid — child
  6. bat — the animal
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. row — a line
  10. bass — low music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. club — for golf
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. file — a document
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kid — to tease
  20. row — to paddle
  21. club — for dancing
  22. saw — the tool
  23. club — a group
  24. file — a tool

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