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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. spell — a short time
  3. cold — an illness
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. toast — bread
  8. spell — letters
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. row — a line
  14. suit — in cards
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. suit — to fit
  17. file — a tool
  18. suit — clothes
  19. file — a line of people
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. spell — magic
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. row — to paddle
  24. prune — to trim

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