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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. spring — of water
  3. court — of law
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. net — in sport
  7. spring — a coil
  8. kid — to tease
  9. spring — the season
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. court — of a king
  14. net — after costs
  15. kid — child
  16. net — for catching
  17. wake — a trail
  18. court — for sport

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