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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fork — in a road
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. ground — a position
  10. bound — tied together
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bound — obliged
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bound — certain
  18. lean — to bend
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lean — thin
  24. spring — the season

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