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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. squash — to crush
  6. file — a document
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. pit — in a race
  9. mark — a grade
  10. field — a subject
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. file — a line of people
  16. field — farmland
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. squash — the sport
  20. pit — a hole
  21. field — for sport
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. mark — a trace

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