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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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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: rock · file · pop · kid · last · club

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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. file — a tool
  2. last — to go on
  3. club — for dancing
  4. rock — music
  5. last — finally
  6. pop — soda
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. pop — to visit
  9. rock — a stone
  10. file — a document
  11. club — for golf
  12. pop — music
  13. kid — child
  14. last — final
  15. club — a group
  16. kid — to tease
  17. file — a line of people
  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