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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. row — to paddle
  3. board — to get on
  4. row — a line
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — to come from
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cold — an illness
  11. file — a tool
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — a committee
  15. suit — in cards
  16. cold — not warm
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. suit — clothes
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bear — the animal
  24. suit — to fit

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