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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: season · racket · current · mouse · file · march · fine · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. season — in sport
  3. current — of water
  4. season — of the year
  5. current — electric
  6. march — the month
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. fine — all right
  9. file — a tool
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. march — music
  14. hand — in cards
  15. march — the month
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — high quality
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. current — happening now
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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