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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 120 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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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. dip — a sauce
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. content — the amount
  5. field — a subject
  6. spring — of water
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. last — finally
  12. shower — to wash
  13. field — for sport
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. field — farmland
  20. content — happy
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. last — to go on
  23. shower — rain
  24. last — final

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