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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a cup
  3. cold — an illness
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. field — farmland
  6. capital — money
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. shower — rain
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. shower — to wash
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. capital — a city
  15. present — a gift
  16. field — a subject
  17. present — there
  18. field — for sport
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mug — a face
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. present — the time now
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. net — after costs

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