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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. craft — boats
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. file — a tool
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. net — in sport
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. rash — a series
  13. scale — in music
  14. net — after costs
  15. scale — size or range
  16. rash — hasty
  17. file — a document
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. kick — in football
  21. net — for catching
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. craft — a skill
  24. file — a line of people

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