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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. file — a line of people
  3. swing — music
  4. kid — child
  5. toast — bread
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. file — a document
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. file — a tool
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. swing — to play on
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to sink
  21. kid — to tease
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wound — an injury
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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