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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. field — a subject
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. charge — a price
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. firm — steady
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rush — hurry
  10. field — farmland
  11. charge — electricity
  12. file — a document
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. file — a line of people
  15. tube — the underground
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. perch — the fish
  18. tube — a container
  19. field — for sport
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. file — a tool
  22. charge — in control
  23. firm — a company
  24. rush — to hurry

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