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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: cold · row · last · rock · hide · bay · ground · file

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. cold — not warm
  3. row — a line
  4. rock — music
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. file — a line of people
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. last — final
  9. ground — a position
  10. cold — an illness
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. ground — the earth
  13. last — finally
  14. file — a document
  15. rock — a stone
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. row — to paddle
  18. last — to go on
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. file — a tool
  24. ground — crushed

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