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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bank — for money
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. fork — in a road
  9. wound — an injury
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bank — for money
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bank — of a river
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. shower — rain
  19. mine — for digging
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. fork — to eat with

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