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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. file — a document
  3. rest — a break
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. sharp — clever
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. file — a line of people
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. spring — of water
  10. race — humankind
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. race — a contest
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spring — a coil
  21. rest — what's left
  22. file — a tool
  23. rest — what's left
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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