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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 120 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: arm · hide · last · band · game · file · mouse · chest

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. last — final
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. game — a match
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. band — a music group
  12. last — finally
  13. game — wild animals
  14. last — to go on
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. chest — a box
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. file — a line of people
  19. band — a ring
  20. chest — of your body
  21. file — a tool
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. file — a document
  24. mouse — the animal

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