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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. file — a tool
  4. date — the fruit
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. swing — in golf
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. swing — music
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. file — a document
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. spring — the season
  16. file — a line of people
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cold — not warm
  24. spring — of water

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