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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. present — a gift
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mine — for digging
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. dip — to sink
  7. file — a document
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. file — a line of people
  10. content — happy
  11. pop — soda
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. pop — music
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pop — to visit
  19. content — the amount
  20. present — the time now
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. present — there
  24. mine — an explosive

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