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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 116 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. file — a tool
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. file — a document
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bulb — for light
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rock — music
  24. file — a line of people

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