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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. squash — the sport
  3. last — final
  4. file — a line of people
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. last — to go on
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. squash — to crush
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. file — a tool
  14. bear — the animal
  15. row — to paddle
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. last — finally
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. file — a document
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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