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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. file — a tool
  3. pop — to visit
  4. band — a music group
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. file — a document
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. can — a tin
  11. pit — a hole
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. can — a tin
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. pop — soda
  17. object — a thing
  18. pit — in a race
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. object — an aim
  21. file — a line of people
  22. object — to protest
  23. pop — music
  24. band — a ring

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