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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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. key — for a lock
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. key — in music
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. key — the most important part
  13. kid — child
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. kick — in football
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. branch — a division
  24. pound — a weight

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