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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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. fan — to cool the air
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cell — a phone
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. march — the month
  10. file — a tool
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. present — the time now
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. file — a document
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. march — music
  18. file — a line of people
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. last — final
  21. present — there
  22. present — a gift
  23. march — the month
  24. straw — a straw man

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