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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. branch — a division
  4. mark — a grade
  5. shower — rain
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fine — all right
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. mark — a trace
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. fine — high quality
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. shower — to wash

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