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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 120 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: wake · pit · game · rest · file · current · chest · club

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. pit — a hole
  3. wake — a trail
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. club — for golf
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. club — a group
  11. file — a document
  12. current — electric
  13. pit — in a race
  14. file — a line of people
  15. game — wild animals
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. club — for dancing
  19. current — happening now
  20. chest — of your body
  21. game — a match
  22. rest — a break
  23. file — a tool
  24. chest — a box

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