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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: file · bat · hide · nail · toast · charge · straw · game

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. game — a match
  4. charge — electricity
  5. bat — the animal
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. file — a line of people
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. toast — bread
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. file — a document
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. file — a tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. game — wild animals
  23. charge — a price
  24. charge — in control

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