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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: pound · arm · rest · bay · snap · mine · season · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. rest — a break
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. rest — what's left
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. file — a tool
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — in sport
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. rest — what's left
  23. file — a document
  24. mine — for digging

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