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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. fine — high quality
  3. file — a tool
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — a signal
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — all right
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. game — wild animals
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. fork — in a road
  15. file — a document
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. rest — a break
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cue — for pool
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rest — what's left

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