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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. chest — a box
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. present — a gift
  5. chest — of your body
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pit — in a race
  8. present — the time now
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. present — there
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. lean — thin
  16. file — a line of people
  17. scale — in music
  18. lean — to bend
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pit — a hole
  22. file — a tool
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. straw — dry grass

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