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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. kid — child
  4. net — in sport
  5. foot — a measure
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. kid — to tease
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. net — for catching
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. rush — hurry
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. net — after costs
  18. file — a tool
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. plane — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

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