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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 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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 — the season
  3. cell — in biology
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. hand — help
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. date — the fruit
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. lean — to bend
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. sharp — exactly

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