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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. capital — money
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. land — a country
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wound — an injury
  7. land — ground
  8. capital — a city
  9. deal — to handle
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. file — a document
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. pound — a weight
  15. wound — an injury
  16. suit — to fit
  17. suit — in cards
  18. land — to come down
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. suit — clothes
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. file — a line of people
  24. straw — dry grass

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