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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bank — for money
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. spring — of water
  9. bank — of a river
  10. tube — the underground
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. last — to go on
  14. spring — the season
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. last — finally
  17. lean — thin
  18. file — a document
  19. spring — a coil
  20. tube — a container
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. file — a tool
  23. bank — for money
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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