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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. can — a tin
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. file — a line of people
  5. perch — the fish
  6. can — a tin
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. field — for sport
  11. board — a committee
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. field — farmland
  15. cell — in biology
  16. file — a document
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. can — to be able to
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. field — a subject
  23. board — to get on
  24. perch — for a bird

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