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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. track — a path
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. dip — to sink
  6. track — to keep track
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. track — a song
  9. rule — a law
  10. snap — to click
  11. last — finally
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. rule — government
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. last — to go on
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. last — final
  24. fork — in a road

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