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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. file — a line of people
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pop — music
  10. ground — a position
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pop — to visit
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pop — soda
  18. kick — in football
  19. bore — to drill
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. pitcher — a jug

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