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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. scale — in music
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rush — hurry
  10. scale — size or range
  11. spell — letters
  12. wound — an injury
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wound — an injury
  17. land — a country
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. spell — magic
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. land — to come down
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spell — a short time

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