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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 · straw · row · bear · plane · kid · track · pop

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pop — soda
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. file — a line of people
  8. row — to paddle
  9. file — a document
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. row — a line
  12. track — to keep track
  13. kid — to tease
  14. track — a path
  15. plane — a tool
  16. pop — to visit
  17. kid — child
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bear — the animal
  21. file — a tool
  22. pop — music
  23. bear — the animal
  24. track — a song

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