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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. file — a tool
  4. game — a match
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pop — soda
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bat — the animal
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. pop — music
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. file — a line of people
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. toast — bread
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. game — wild animals
  22. file — a document
  23. pop — to visit
  24. nail — for a hammer

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