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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. present — there
  3. last — to go on
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. hand — in cards
  9. present — the time now
  10. file — a document
  11. hand — help
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. file — a tool
  14. stock — shares
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. last — final
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. stock — goods
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. present — a gift

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