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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. capital — money
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. race — a contest
  8. file — a document
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. file — a tool
  17. race — the arms race
  18. capital — a city
  19. race — humankind
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. sharp — clever
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. straw — a straw man

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