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

Word bank: pit · cell · tear · game · swing · file

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. 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. game — a match
  2. file — a document
  3. swing — to play on
  4. file — a line of people
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a hole
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cell — a phone
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. swing — music
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. 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