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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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. wax — to grow
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. stock — shares
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. spring — of water
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chair — a leader
  13. spring — the season
  14. hand — help
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. hand — in cards
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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