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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. net — in sport
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. staff — employees
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. file — a document
  10. season — of the year
  11. shower — rain
  12. file — a line of people
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. season — in sport
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. staff — employees
  18. net — for catching
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. file — a tool
  21. staff — a stick
  22. shower — to wash
  23. net — after costs
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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