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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. drill — army training
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. lean — thin
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. row — a line
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cell — a phone
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. rash — hasty
  18. hand — help
  19. lean — to bend
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. drill — the tool
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. lean — to rest against

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