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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 120 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. mine — for digging
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wax — to grow
  13. stock — shares
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. wind — moving air
  17. row — a line
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. scale — size or range
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wax — in the ear

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