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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 came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. fork — in a road
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rule — a law
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. file — a tool
  9. court — of law
  10. file — a document
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. court — for sport
  13. rule — government
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. mark — a grade
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mark — a trace
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. court — of a king
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bat — in an idiom

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