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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. file — a document
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. fine — all right
  12. file — a tool
  13. content — happy
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wound — an injury
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. kick — in football
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fine — high quality
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. content — the amount
  24. wound — an injury

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