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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. drill — army training
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. row — a line
  6. drill — the tool
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. saw — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. rash — a series
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. rash — hasty
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. toast — bread
  16. file — a tool
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. file — a line of people
  19. row — to paddle
  20. file — a document
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. saw — the tool

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