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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 120 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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. kick — in football
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. file — a document
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. file — a line of people
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. object — to protest
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. current — of water
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. object — an aim
  19. file — a tool
  20. object — a thing
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. row — a line
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — electric

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