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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. mug — a cup
  2. race — humankind
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. track — a song
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. file — a document
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. track — a path
  11. pop — to visit
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. track — to keep track
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. file — a tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mug — to rob
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mug — a face
  22. season — of the year
  23. race — a contest
  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