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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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. row — a quarrel
  3. chest — of your body
  4. season — of the year
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. row — a line
  7. land — a country
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. shower — to wash
  10. land — to come down
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. saw — the tool
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. shower — rain
  18. land — ground
  19. saw — the tool
  20. season — in sport
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. chest — a box

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