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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 116 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. spring — the season
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. cap — a lid
  5. saw — the tool
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. spring — of water
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. field — for sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. cap — a hat
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cap — of ice
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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