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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rush — hurry
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cold — not warm
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. stem — to come from
  19. chip — for betting
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. file — a tool
  24. rush — a thrill

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