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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. board — a committee
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. land — a country
  9. spring — the season
  10. board — to get on
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. spring — of water
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. spell — letters
  16. cap — of ice
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cap — a hat
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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