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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cell — a phone
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. field — for sport
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spring — a coil
  11. field — a subject
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — the season
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. field — farmland
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. spring — of water
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wind — moving air
  24. dip — to sink

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