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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. mate — a partner
  4. track — to keep track
  5. file — a line of people
  6. track — a path
  7. plane — a tool
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. mate — a friend
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. rest — a break
  13. track — a song
  14. file — a document
  15. swing — music
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. swing — in golf
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. straw — dry grass
  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