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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. ground — the earth
  5. mark — a trace
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. chest — a box
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. shower — to wash
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. shower — rain
  14. clip — to cut
  15. last — to go on
  16. chest — of your body
  17. last — finally
  18. mark — a grade
  19. clip — a video
  20. ground — a position
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. chest — of your body
  24. last — final

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