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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. cold — not warm
  8. branch — a division
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wind — moving air
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. row — a line
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wind — moving air
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mine — for digging

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