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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 124 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mate — a friend
  3. track — a song
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wake — a trail
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bear — the animal
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. file — a line of people
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. track — a path
  14. fork — in a road
  15. file — a tool
  16. mate — to breed
  17. file — a document
  18. track — to keep track
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bear — the animal
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mate — a partner
  24. trunk — of a car

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