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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. sharp — clever
  3. drill — the tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. land — ground
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. land — to come down
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. content — the amount
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. drill — a practice
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. prune — to trim
  23. land — a country
  24. drill — army training

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