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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mate — a partner
  3. file — a tool
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — after costs
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. snap — to click
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. file — a line of people
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. file — a document
  15. net — in sport
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. mug — a face
  18. mate — to breed
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. mate — a friend
  21. stand — to bear
  22. fall — the season
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mug — a cup

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