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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: hand · saw · mouse · arm · track · tear · kid · file

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. file — a tool
  3. hand — in cards
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tear — to rip
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. track — to keep track
  12. tear — from crying
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. track — a song
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hand — help
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. arm — part of the body

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