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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 120 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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. foot — a measure
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. rest — what's left
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. land — ground
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. rest — a break
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. hand — help
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. vault — a safe
  18. pitch — completely
  19. land — a country
  20. file — a tool
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. hand — in cards
  24. land — to come down

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