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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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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: chest · court · bay · shower · kick · file · cabinet · mug

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mug — a cup
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. chest — a box
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. shower — to wash
  11. file — a document
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. court — of law
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. court — for sport
  19. mug — a face
  20. mug — to rob
  21. shower — rain
  22. court — of a king
  23. chest — of your body
  24. kick — in football

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