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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 bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. file — a document
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. roll — a cake
  5. file — a tool
  6. cell — a phone
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. file — a line of people
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cell — in biology
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rock — a stone
  15. face — to point toward
  16. roll — a list
  17. clip — a video
  18. face — part of the head
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. clip — for paper
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. rock — music
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. face — to confront

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