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

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. file — a tool
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. staff — a stick
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. kid — to tease
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. kid — child
  16. staff — employees
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. mine — for digging
  19. staff — employees
  20. plane — a tool
  21. chair — a leader
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. plane — an aircraft

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