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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pop — music
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pop — to visit
  5. file — a tool
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bear — the animal
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. file — a document
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — to sink
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pop — soda
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pitch — completely
  24. cell — in biology

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