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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cap — a lid
  3. file — a document
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bulb — for light
  6. kick — in football
  7. file — a line of people
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cap — a hat
  10. row — a line
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. root — the cause
  14. row — to paddle
  15. root — of a word
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. file — a tool
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. kid — child
  21. root — of a plant
  22. cap — of ice
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bulb — for light

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