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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. track — a song
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. track — a path
  6. club — a group
  7. file — a tool
  8. row — a line
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. file — a line of people
  12. club — for dancing
  13. tear — to rip
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. track — to keep track
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. file — a document
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rush — hurry
  21. club — for golf
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. straw — a straw man

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