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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. saw — the tool
  3. file — a document
  4. current — happening now
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. stem — to come from
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. saw — the tool
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. current — of water
  15. file — a line of people
  16. fork — in a road
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cap — of ice
  22. file — a tool
  23. current — electric
  24. wake — before a funeral

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