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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. land — ground
  3. board — a committee
  4. land — a country
  5. tear — from crying
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. tear — to rip
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. saw — the tool
  18. dip — to sink
  19. land — to come down
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. spring — the season
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spring — of water
  24. trunk — of a tree

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