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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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. lean — to rest against
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. lean — thin
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. lean — to bend
  10. mine — for digging
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. field — a subject
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. kick — in football

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