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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — a hint
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. object — a thing
  7. land — to come down
  8. object — an aim
  9. drill — army training
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. cue — for pool
  12. chest — a box
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. drill — a practice
  15. chest — of your body
  16. drill — the tool
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. land — a country
  20. wind — moving air
  21. object — to protest
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  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