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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. staff — employees
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. staff — employees
  9. file — a line of people
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. fine — all right
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. last — to go on
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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