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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bay · object · cell · pass · kick · file

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. object — to protest
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. cell — in biology
  6. pass — a permit
  7. cell — a phone
  8. kick — in football
  9. file — a tool
  10. object — a thing
  11. file — a document
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. object — an aim
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. kick — with a leg

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