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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 · snap · chest · file · cell · roll · pit · track

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. roll — a list
  7. chest — of your body
  8. roll — a cake
  9. file — a document
  10. chest — of your body
  11. file — a tool
  12. snap — to click
  13. cell — a phone
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. pit — a hole
  22. cell — in biology
  23. chest — a box
  24. file — a line of people

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