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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: pound · bay · file · game · squash · bat · arm · mate

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. squash — to crush
  7. game — a match
  8. mate — to breed
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pound — a weight
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. game — wild animals
  18. file — a tool
  19. bat — the animal
  20. file — a document
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. squash — the sport
  23. mate — a friend
  24. squash — the vegetable

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