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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mark — a trace
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cap — of ice
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. file — a tool
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. content — the amount
  20. sharp — clever
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cap — a hat
  23. mark — a grade
  24. file — a document

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