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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. file — a document
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. foot — a measure
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. press — to push
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. press — newspapers
  14. face — to confront
  15. stem — to come from
  16. face — to point toward
  17. track — a path
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. press — a publisher
  21. face — part of the head
  22. file — a line of people
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. file — a tool

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