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

Word bank: rest · bay · foot · file · tear · kick

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. kick — in football
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. file — a line of people
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a document
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  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