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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 124 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. row — to paddle
  6. land — to come down
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. court — of a king
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. land — a country
  13. bank — for money
  14. row — a line
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. court — of law
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. land — ground
  24. bank — for money

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