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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. file — a tool
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. snap — to click
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. capital — money
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. deal — to handle
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. file — a line of people
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wind — moving air
  22. capital — a city
  23. coach — a trainer
  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