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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. stand — to bear
  3. last — to go on
  4. stock — goods
  5. club — a group
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. content — happy
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. file — a document
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. stock — shares
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. content — the amount
  20. saw — the tool
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. club — for golf
  23. saw — the tool
  24. club — for dancing

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