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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. present — the time now
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. craft — boats
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. kid — child
  8. fine — high quality
  9. shower — rain
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. drill — a practice
  12. last — final
  13. drill — army training
  14. present — there
  15. drill — the tool
  16. shower — to wash
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. last — finally
  20. present — a gift
  21. fine — all right
  22. last — to go on
  23. craft — a skill
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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