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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 120 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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. squash — the sport
  3. pit — in a race
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. rash — hasty
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. kid — child
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. file — a tool
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. kid — to tease
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rash — a series
  19. sharp — clever
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. pit — a hole
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

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