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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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 — to keep at bay
  2. snap — to click
  3. file — a tool
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. court — of a king
  12. file — a document
  13. wound — an injury
  14. court — of law
  15. court — for sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. bound — obliged
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bound — certain
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bat — for baseball
  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