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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 116 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: bay · kid · scale · club · straw · game · file · suit

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. suit — in cards
  4. suit — clothes
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. club — for dancing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. file — a line of people
  9. club — a group
  10. game — wild animals
  11. file — a document
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. club — for golf
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. scale — in music
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. game — a match
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. file — a tool
  23. suit — to fit
  24. bay — a horse colour

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