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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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. content — happy
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. rock — music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. shower — rain
  8. rock — a stone
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. shower — to wash
  11. band — a music group
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. content — the amount
  16. kid — to tease
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. lean — thin
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. lean — to bend
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. band — a ring

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