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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. present — there
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — a partner
  7. snap — to click
  8. present — the time now
  9. band — a music group
  10. craft — boats
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. present — a gift
  14. file — a line of people
  15. mate — to breed
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. band — a ring
  18. file — a document
  19. craft — a skill
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — a position
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. band — a rubber band

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