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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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. field — a subject
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. tube — a container
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. last — final
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. last — to go on
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. last — finally
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. rash — a series
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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