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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · bat · tear · pit · snap · file · straw · lean

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. snap — to click
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. file — a tool
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — to drill
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. lean — to bend
  19. file — a document
  20. lean — thin
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. pit — a hole
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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