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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.

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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a line of people
  3. tear — from crying
  4. staff — employees
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. tear — to rip
  9. staff — a stick
  10. pop — soda
  11. tube — the underground
  12. pop — music
  13. staff — employees
  14. dip — to sink
  15. tube — a container
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. file — a tool
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. pop — to visit
  21. net — for catching
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. tear — from crying

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