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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. file — a tool
  3. swing — music
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. swing — in golf
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. court — of law
  10. kick — in football
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. court — of a king
  14. row — a line
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. file — a document
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. court — for sport
  24. bat — the animal

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