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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. file — a tool
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. scale — size or range
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. file — a line of people
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. kid — child
  15. bound — obliged
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bound — certain
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bound — tied together
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. pitcher — a jug

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