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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. net — in sport
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. file — a document
  5. firm — decided
  6. firm — a company
  7. spring — the season
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. spring — of water
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. net — after costs
  12. spring — a coil
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. net — for catching
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. firm — steady
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. file — a tool

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