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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. cell — a phone
  3. file — a document
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cell — in biology
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. file — a line of people
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. craft — boats
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bass — low music
  14. file — a tool
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. craft — a skill
  19. row — a line
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. cell — in a prison

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