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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: file · pop · foot · hand · track · net · cold · club

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. file — a tool
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cold — not warm
  6. club — for golf
  7. pop — music
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pop — to visit
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. track — a path
  15. club — a group
  16. net — in sport
  17. pop — soda
  18. foot — a measure
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. net — after costs
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. track — a song
  24. track — to keep track

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