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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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. kid — to tease
  3. bat — the animal
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. track — a song
  9. content — the amount
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. spell — letters
  12. track — to keep track
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. track — a path
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. content — happy
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. spell — magic
  22. kid — child
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spell — a short time

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