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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. shower — to wash
  7. chip — to eat
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. shower — rain
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. file — a document
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cold — an illness
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pit — in a race
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. file — a tool

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