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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 120 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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — all right
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. staff — employees
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spring — the season
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. staff — employees
  20. spring — of water
  21. staff — a stick
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fine — high quality
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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