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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. snap — to click
  3. craft — boats
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. shower — to wash
  7. file — a document
  8. race — a contest
  9. file — a tool
  10. perch — the fish
  11. craft — a skill
  12. fall — to drop
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. race — humankind
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. shower — rain
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. fall — to drop
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. race — the arms race
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. fall — the season

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