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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.

Make a worksheet

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: hide · chest · field · mine · file · scale · mouse · wake

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. scale — in music
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. file — a document
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. chest — of your body
  9. file — a tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. file — a line of people
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chest — a box
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. field — a subject
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wake — a trail
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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