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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 124 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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. content — the amount
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. band — a ring
  7. spring — the season
  8. swing — in golf
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. fork — in a road
  11. spring — a coil
  12. content — happy
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. swing — music
  15. hand — in cards
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. band — a music group
  20. spring — of water
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. hand — help
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bat — the animal

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