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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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. spell — magic
  3. tube — a container
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. spell — a short time
  6. tube — the underground
  7. squash — the sport
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. squash — to crush
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. land — ground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. land — a country
  15. land — to come down
  16. spell — letters
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. capital — a city
  22. mine — for digging
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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