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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. march — the month
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stem — to come from
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bore — to drill
  10. lean — thin
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. lean — to bend
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bore — to tire
  16. chair — a leader
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. file — a tool
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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