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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. firm — steady
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. capital — a city
  5. spring — a coil
  6. firm — a company
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. capital — money
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tube — a container
  13. file — a document
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. firm — decided
  16. tube — the underground
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spring — of water
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. file — a line of people
  22. spring — the season
  23. tear — to rip
  24. capital — a big letter

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