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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. ground — a position
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. file — a line of people
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. shower — rain
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. ground — crushed
  13. rash — a series
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. file — a document
  16. ground — the earth
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. rash — hasty
  21. file — a tool
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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