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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a document
  3. hand — help
  4. spring — of water
  5. drill — the tool
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. drill — a practice
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. mate — to breed
  16. drill — army training
  17. mate — a partner
  18. file — a tool
  19. mate — a friend
  20. face — to point toward
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. spring — a coil
  23. hand — in cards
  24. spring — the season

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