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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. sharp — clever
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. prune — to trim
  12. file — a document
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. rush — hurry
  15. pit — in a race
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wind — moving air
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bark — to shout
  24. wind — moving air

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