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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 116 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. file — a document
  4. spell — letters
  5. file — a tool
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. suit — in cards
  11. net — after costs
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. suit — to fit
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. net — in sport
  16. wake — a trail
  17. file — a line of people
  18. suit — clothes
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. spell — magic
  24. cold — not warm

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