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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bass — low music
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bass — the fish
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pit — a hole
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mine — belonging to me

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