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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. shower — rain
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. chip — for betting
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. file — a tool
  10. shower — to wash
  11. prune — to trim
  12. file — a document
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. toast — bread
  15. chip — to eat
  16. capital — a city
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. capital — money

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