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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. file — a line of people
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. file — a document
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. stock — goods
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. saw — the tool
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. toast — bread
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. file — a tool
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stock — shares
  24. mine — for digging

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