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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bear — the animal
  4. file — a document
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. file — a tool
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. kid — to tease
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. present — a gift
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. kid — child
  21. bear — the animal
  22. present — the time now
  23. sharp — clever
  24. present — there

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