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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a document
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cap — of ice
  10. tear — from crying
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cue — a signal
  15. file — a tool
  16. cue — for pool
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cue — a hint
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cap — a lid
  24. file — a line of people

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