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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — to paddle
  3. present — there
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. file — a line of people
  6. content — the amount
  7. net — for catching
  8. present — a gift
  9. tear — from crying
  10. content — happy
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. file — a document
  13. present — the time now
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. file — a tool
  18. net — in sport
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. net — after costs
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. jam — a tight spot

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