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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bass — low music
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bass — the fish
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. object — to protest
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. file — a line of people
  20. dip — to sink
  21. file — a tool
  22. object — a thing
  23. file — a document
  24. wind — moving air

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