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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spring — of water
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. file — a document
  8. squash — to crush
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. spring — a coil
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. tube — a container
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. spring — the season
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cold — not warm
  22. foot — a measure
  23. squash — the sport
  24. tube — in a tire

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