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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: nail · file · mine · dip · mate · scale · wind · club

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wind — moving air
  7. scale — in music
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. scale — size or range
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. club — for golf
  13. wind — moving air
  14. dip — to sink
  15. file — a tool
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mate — a friend
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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