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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  3. board — to get on
  4. spring — a coil
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — music
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. ball — a great time
  11. file — a tool
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. spring — the season
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. spring — of water
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pop — soda
  22. file — a document
  23. ball — a dance
  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