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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bass — the fish
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. stock — shares
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. stock — goods
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bass — low music
  24. mine — an explosive

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