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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. file — a document
  9. tube — the underground
  10. mark — a trace
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. tube — a container
  13. file — a tool
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. mark — a grade
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. tube — in a tire

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