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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 120 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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. file — a tool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. band — a music group
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. net — for catching
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. suit — in cards
  10. suit — clothes
  11. band — a ring
  12. file — a line of people
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. drill — the tool
  15. suit — to fit
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. net — in sport
  19. file — a document
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. drill — a practice
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. net — after costs

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