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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. last — final
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. cold — an illness
  7. net — for catching
  8. file — a line of people
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. last — to go on
  13. ball — a great time
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. ball — a dance
  16. present — there
  17. last — finally
  18. present — a gift
  19. net — in sport
  20. row — to paddle
  21. present — the time now
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cold — not warm
  24. net — after costs

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