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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. wake — a trail
  9. file — a tool
  10. deal — to handle
  11. land — to come down
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. land — a country
  14. fork — in a road
  15. file — a line of people
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bass — low music
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. land — ground
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bass — the fish
  24. file — a document

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