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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.

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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: coach · mouse · file · fall · bowl · snap · rash · wound

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. snap — to click
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. fall — the season
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rash — hasty
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. rash — a series
  19. file — a document
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wound — an injury
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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