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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. land — a country
  9. last — finally
  10. shower — rain
  11. band — a music group
  12. land — ground
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. last — final
  15. band — a ring
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. last — to go on
  18. bat — the animal
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. shower — to wash
  22. land — to come down
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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