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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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. drill — a practice
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mine — for digging
  6. drill — army training
  7. press — to push
  8. kid — child
  9. press — a publisher
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hand — help
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. drill — the tool
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. press — newspapers

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