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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stand — to bear
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. game — a match
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. spell — a short time
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. spell — letters
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. spell — magic
  23. game — wild animals
  24. ruler — for measuring

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