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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a tool
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. mate — a friend
  10. kick — in football
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pass — a permit
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — to sink
  18. file — a document
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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