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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: rash · mine · file · pass · hand · rest · pop · pitcher

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. pop — music
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pop — soda
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. rest — a break
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rest — what's left
  9. file — a tool
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. hand — help
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. file — a line of people
  14. pop — to visit
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. file — a document

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