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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. ground — the earth
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. file — a line of people
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ground — a position
  10. drill — army training
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. file — a document
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mark — a grade
  17. drill — a practice
  18. tear — from crying
  19. drill — the tool
  20. mark — a trace
  21. kid — child
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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