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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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. bound — certain
  3. last — final
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bound — tied together
  7. scale — size or range
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. bound — obliged
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. scale — in music
  24. wave — with your hand

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