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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 116 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: file · bay · pop · pit · snap · leaves · kick · wound

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wound — an injury
  4. file — a tool
  5. pit — in a race
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. file — a document
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. kick — in football
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pop — soda
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pit — a hole
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. pop — music
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. file — a line of people
  24. snap — to click

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