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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · club · pitch · rash · tube · ball · file · wound

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. ball — a dance
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. present — there
  5. wound — an injury
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a document
  8. club — a group
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rash — hasty
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. file — a line of people
  16. tube — a container
  17. pitch — completely
  18. ball — a great time
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — a gift
  22. rash — a series
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. club — for dancing

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