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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. last — to go on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mine — for digging
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. bass — the fish
  10. last — final
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. hand — help
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. last — finally
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bass — low music
  18. squash — the sport
  19. hand — in cards
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bass — the instrument

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