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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bound — tied together
  5. file — a tool
  6. kid — to tease
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bound — obliged
  9. capital — money
  10. kid — child
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. capital — a city
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. press — to push
  15. press — a publisher
  16. mug — a face
  17. press — newspapers
  18. mug — to rob
  19. fall — the season
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bound — certain
  22. file — a document
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mug — a cup

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