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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. drill — army training
  3. cap — of ice
  4. shower — rain
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. land — to come down
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. land — ground
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wound — an injury
  23. land — a country
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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