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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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. ball — a dance
  3. game — a match
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. stand — to bear
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stem — to come from
  13. ball — a great time
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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