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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pop — to visit
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. pop — soda
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. file — a document
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pop — music
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — of a river
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bank — for money
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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