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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. snap — to click
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. land — ground
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. land — a country
  8. current — happening now
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. current — of water
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — to rob
  13. current — electric
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. field — for sport
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. field — farmland
  19. mug — a face
  20. land — to come down
  21. field — a subject
  22. wound — an injury
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wound — an injury

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