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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fall — the season
  5. capital — a city
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. capital — money
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fall — to drop
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bass — the fish
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bat — the animal
  20. game — a match
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bass — low music
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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