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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: kid · rash · scale · tube · leaves · file · ground · saw

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rash — hasty
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. tube — the underground
  12. file — a tool
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. saw — the tool
  16. scale — size or range
  17. file — a document
  18. scale — in music
  19. kid — child
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. file — a line of people
  23. kid — to tease
  24. scale — for weighing

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