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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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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: straw · date · bat · game · saw · mark · object · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mark — a trace
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. mark — a grade
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bat — the animal
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. date — the fruit
  11. object — an aim
  12. file — a document
  13. object — to protest
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. file — a line of people
  18. saw — the tool
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. object — a thing
  23. saw — the tool
  24. date — on the calendar

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