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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. land — a country
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. land — ground
  16. wake — a trail
  17. pop — soda
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pop — to visit
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pop — music

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