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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. staff — employees
  4. game — a match
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. current — happening now
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. staff — a stick
  13. file — a tool
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. current — of water
  16. cold — not warm
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. current — electric
  20. game — wild animals
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. cold — an illness
  24. staff — employees

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