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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bore — to tire
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kick — in football
  5. file — a tool
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. net — in sport
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bore — to drill
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. track — a path
  12. net — for catching
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. track — to keep track
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. file — a document
  20. net — after costs
  21. cold — an illness
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. track — a song
  24. kick — with a leg

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