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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  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 tool
  2. rock — a stone
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. swing — to play on
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. stand — to bear
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fine — high quality
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rock — music
  14. swing — music
  15. fine — all right
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. file — a document
  18. kick — in football
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. swing — in golf
  23. kick — with a leg
  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