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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: bay · leaves · kick · game · file · swing · lie · cold

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. game — wild animals
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. swing — in golf
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. file — a document
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. swing — to play on
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. swing — music
  20. kick — in football
  21. file — a tool
  22. game — a match
  23. lie — to recline
  24. kick — with a leg

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