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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. can — a tin
  3. court — of law
  4. file — a document
  5. perch — the fish
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. lean — thin
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. court — for sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. court — of a king
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. file — a line of people
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. file — a tool
  21. can — a tin
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. can — to be able to
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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