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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 124 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. cap — of ice
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. charge — in control
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bound — certain
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. spring — the season
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. charge — a price
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. charge — electricity
  19. spring — of water
  20. bound — tied together
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a document
  23. bound — obliged
  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