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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — boats
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. saw — the tool
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a path
  13. mark — a trace
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. file — a tool
  21. mark — a grade
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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