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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. tube — the underground
  4. file — a tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. shower — to wash
  7. game — wild animals
  8. file — a line of people
  9. tube — a container
  10. file — a document
  11. rock — music
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. land — to come down
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. land — a country
  18. game — a match
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rock — a stone
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. land — ground

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