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

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. file — a tool
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. pitch — completely
  16. file — a document
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pitch — a sports field

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