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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 116 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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. race — a contest
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fork — in a road
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. race — the arms race
  13. file — a line of people
  14. race — humankind
  15. mark — a grade
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mine — for digging

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