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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. bear — the animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. spring — of water
  7. chip — to eat
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chip — for betting
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. safe — out of danger

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