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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. rock — a stone
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bound — obliged
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bound — certain
  14. file — a line of people
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bat — the animal
  17. rock — music
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bound — tied together
  20. staff — employees
  21. row — a line
  22. staff — employees
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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