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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. content — happy
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. band — a ring
  9. drill — army training
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. field — for sport
  12. content — the amount
  13. band — a music group
  14. vault — a safe
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. field — farmland
  17. bat — the animal
  18. field — a subject
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. drill — the tool
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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