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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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 tool
  2. suit — in cards
  3. game — a match
  4. mug — a cup
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. suit — to fit
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — help
  11. mug — to rob
  12. wound — an injury
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mug — a face
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. suit — clothes
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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