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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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468
Word bank
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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. file — a line of people
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. file — a tool
  7. game — wild animals
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — to tease
  12. file — a document
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. pass — a permit
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kid — child
  21. game — a match
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mine — for digging
  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