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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. chest — of your body
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — certain
  9. pit — in a race
  10. stand — to bear
  11. craft — boats
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. clip — a video
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bound — obliged
  16. chest — a box
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bound — tied together
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. craft — a skill
  22. pit — a hole
  23. file — a tool
  24. stand — on your feet

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