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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 116 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: pound · bat · file · bay · fine · straw · cold · cap

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. fine — all right
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. file — a document
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cap — a lid
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cap — a hat
  13. file — a tool
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cap — of ice
  17. fine — high quality
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bay — a horse colour

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