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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. net — in sport
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. field — farmland
  6. file — a document
  7. net — after costs
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wound — an injury
  13. field — a subject
  14. staff — employees
  15. wound — an injury
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. field — for sport
  22. staff — employees
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — to go away

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