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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pit — a hole
  6. net — after costs
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. content — happy
  10. file — a document
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. spring — of water
  14. season — in sport
  15. file — a tool
  16. content — the amount
  17. spring — a coil
  18. club — for dancing
  19. spring — the season
  20. season — of the year
  21. club — for golf
  22. net — in sport
  23. club — a group
  24. net — for catching

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