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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 black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. swing — music
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — a gift
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. saw — the tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. foot — a measure
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. file — a line of people
  19. swing — in golf
  20. present — there
  21. saw — the tool
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. foot — the bottom

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