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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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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 · kid · rest · bear · file · pop · wake · deal

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. hand — help
  3. pop — music
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. file — a line of people
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. kid — to tease
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. file — a document
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pop — soda
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pop — to visit

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