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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. sharp — clever
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. ground — the earth
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — all right
  14. tear — to rip
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. file — a tool
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. tear — from crying
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. file — a document
  24. tear — from crying

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