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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. land — a country
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. stand — to bear
  10. wake — a trail
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. land — to come down
  16. drill — the tool
  17. land — ground
  18. deal — to handle
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. stand — on your feet

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