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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a document
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. hand — help
  13. mate — a friend
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. content — happy
  16. prune — to trim
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pit — in a race
  19. mine — for digging
  20. file — a line of people
  21. content — the amount
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pit — a hole
  24. content — videos and posts

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