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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. fine — all right
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. staff — a stick
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. swing — to play on
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. fine — high quality
  13. staff — employees
  14. cold — an illness
  15. swing — music
  16. file — a line of people
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. staff — employees
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. cold — not warm
  23. file — a document
  24. straw — a straw man

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