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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bat — the animal
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. row — a line
  5. present — a gift
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. file — a tool
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rash — hasty
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. present — the time now
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. mug — to rob
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rash — a series
  20. present — there
  21. mug — a cup
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. file — a document
  24. bat — for baseball

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