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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 · kid · bay · row · mug · chest · spring · mine

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. kid — child
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. spring — of water
  6. chest — a box
  7. mug — a cup
  8. row — to paddle
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. mine — for digging
  12. chest — of your body
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. spring — the season
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mug — a face
  20. spring — a coil
  21. row — a line
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. chest — of your body

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