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

Word bank: spell · present · ground · file · fork · straw · snap · toast

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. file — a tool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. spell — a short time
  5. present — a gift
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. present — there
  14. ground — crushed
  15. toast — bread
  16. fork — in a road
  17. file — a document
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — letters
  21. file — a line of people
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. present — the time now
  24. straw — a straw man

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