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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.

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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: last · court · lie · wave · pitcher · rash · pop · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pop — to visit
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. last — to go on
  6. pop — music
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. last — final
  11. pop — soda
  12. lie — to recline
  13. court — of a king
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. last — finally
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rash — a series

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