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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. file — a document
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. spell — magic
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spring — the season
  8. lean — to bend
  9. file — a tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. chest — a box
  16. kick — in football
  17. spell — letters
  18. spring — of water
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spring — a coil
  22. lean — thin
  23. fork — to eat with
  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