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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. rule — a law
  8. band — a ring
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wind — moving air
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. prune — to trim
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. file — a document
  20. band — a music group
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wind — moving air
  24. sharp — with an edge

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