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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. fork — in a road
  5. spell — letters
  6. row — a line
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. file — a document
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. file — a tool
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pop — music
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pop — to visit
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pop — soda
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. spell — magic
  23. row — to paddle
  24. straw — dry grass

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