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

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. spring — of water
  5. file — a document
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. mine — for digging
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chip — for betting
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. racket — for tennis

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