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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pitch — completely
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. firm — decided
  6. firm — a company
  7. file — a tool
  8. sharp — clever
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. firm — steady
  18. capital — money
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. fall — the season
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fan — a supporter

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