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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a tool
  3. capital — money
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. stock — shares
  6. file — a document
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. kick — in football
  18. stock — goods
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. track — a song
  24. stock — a soup base

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