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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mate — to breed
  5. row — a line
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. season — of the year
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. file — a tool
  12. plane — a tool
  13. kick — in football
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. season — in sport
  18. file — a line of people
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. field — farmland
  22. row — to paddle
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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