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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. swing — to play on
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. squash — to crush
  8. swing — music
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. swing — in golf
  12. scale — in music
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wind — moving air
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wind — moving air
  18. squash — the sport
  19. file — a document
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. file — a tool
  23. shower — rain
  24. scale — size or range

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