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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: chest · file · tear · rash · scale · game · racket · cue

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cue — a hint
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cue — for pool
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cue — a signal
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rash — a series
  13. chest — of your body
  14. game — a match
  15. scale — in music
  16. game — wild animals
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. tear — to rip
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. chest — a box
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. game — a kind of play

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