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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: file · bass · squash · tear · bat · bay · rush · fork

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. file — a line of people
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. file — a document
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bass — low music
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. tear — from crying
  13. squash — the sport
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bat — the animal
  17. squash — to crush
  18. rush — hurry
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. file — a tool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fork — in a road

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