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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 · march · cell · straw · file · club

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. club — for dancing
  3. file — a document
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. club — for golf
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. club — a group
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. cell — in biology
  13. march — music
  14. file — a line of people
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. cell — a phone
  18. file — a tool

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