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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: game · press · pound · file · wake · kid · sharp · bat

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. file — a tool
  4. bat — the animal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. game — a match
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pound — a weight
  11. file — a document
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. press — newspapers
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. press — a publisher
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wake — a trail
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. press — to push
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. kid — child
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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