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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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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. file — a document
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bound — certain
  5. kid — to tease
  6. land — ground
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. suit — clothes
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. file — a line of people
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. kid — child
  16. file — a tool
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. land — a country
  19. bound — tied together
  20. squash — to crush
  21. suit — in cards
  22. bound — obliged
  23. suit — to fit
  24. land — to come down

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