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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rest — a break
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. scale — in music
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. lie — to recline
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. court — of a king
  17. scale — size or range
  18. rest — what's left
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. straw — dry grass
  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