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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a document
  3. club — for golf
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. club — a group
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. land — a country
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. kick — in football
  13. rule — a law
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. land — to come down
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. land — ground
  18. club — for dancing
  19. fork — in a road
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. rule — government
  23. file — a line of people
  24. last — finally

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