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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. bear — the animal
  5. file — a tool
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. spring — a coil
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. spring — the season
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. pop — to visit
  13. field — farmland
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. field — for sport
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. field — a subject
  18. file — a document
  19. bear — the animal
  20. spring — of water
  21. pop — music
  22. last — final
  23. pop — soda
  24. straw — dry grass

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