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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 116 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. net — in sport
  2. track — a song
  3. net — for catching
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rest — what's left
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bound — certain
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. track — to keep track
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. file — a tool
  13. net — after costs
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bound — tied together
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. rest — a break
  18. track — a path
  19. file — a line of people
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — in football
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bound — obliged
  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