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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. court — for sport
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. file — a line of people
  8. kid — to tease
  9. capital — money
  10. bulb — for light
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. court — of a king
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. plane — a tool
  16. court — of law
  17. capital — a city
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. file — a document
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. kid — child
  22. bulb — for light
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. straw — dry grass

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