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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. spring — a coil
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. charge — a price
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. spring — of water
  10. ground — a position
  11. charge — in control
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. spring — the season
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. ground — crushed
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. charge — electricity
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wind — moving air

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