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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tube — a container
  3. chest — a box
  4. file — a line of people
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. drill — army training
  7. tube — the underground
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bat — the animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. drill — a practice
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. drill — the tool
  24. row — a line

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