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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. file — a document
  5. saw — the tool
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. club — for dancing
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. file — a line of people
  11. club — for golf
  12. content — happy
  13. file — a tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fall — the season
  16. shower — rain
  17. club — a group
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. fall — to drop
  20. content — the amount
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. sharp — clever

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