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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.

Make a worksheet

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

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. net — after costs
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. ground — crushed
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wind — moving air
  11. file — a tool
  12. net — for catching
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. date — the fruit
  16. wind — moving air
  17. net — in sport
  18. ground — a position

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