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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 120 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 black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. cell — in biology
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. drill — army training
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. band — a music group
  10. drill — a practice
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. swing — in golf
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bear — the animal
  21. file — a tool
  22. swing — to play on
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. swing — music

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