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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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. bay — to keep at bay
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. mine — for digging
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. pound — a weight
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. stock — shares
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rash — a series
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. stock — goods
  20. wound — an injury
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wound — an injury

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