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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. last — to go on
  3. file — a line of people
  4. march — music
  5. lean — thin
  6. pop — music
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. last — finally
  9. fall — to drop
  10. file — a document
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pop — to visit
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. march — the month
  15. fall — to drop
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fall — the season
  19. last — final
  20. pop — soda
  21. march — the month
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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