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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. present — there
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rest — a break
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kid — child
  8. present — the time now
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bound — obliged
  11. rest — what's left
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bound — certain
  15. mate — to breed
  16. file — a tool
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. kid — to tease
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bound — tied together
  22. mate — a partner
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. present — a gift

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