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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. field — a subject
  5. game — wild animals
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. charge — in control
  9. tear — from crying
  10. charge — a price
  11. field — farmland
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rash — a series
  17. game — a match
  18. tear — to rip
  19. spell — magic
  20. row — a line
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. charge — electricity
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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