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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rash · current · file · mouse · kid · wind

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. kid — child
  8. current — happening now
  9. wind — moving air
  10. current — of water
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. rash — hasty
  13. file — a document
  14. current — electric
  15. rash — a series
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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