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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. can — a tin
  3. spring — of water
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. spring — the season
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fork — in a road
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. fork — to eat with

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