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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. last — finally
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. spring — the season
  9. last — final
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. rule — a law
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. spring — of water
  17. rule — government
  18. last — to go on
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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