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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. track — a song
  4. spell — a short time
  5. stock — goods
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. spell — magic
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spell — letters
  10. track — a path
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fork — in a road
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. kid — child
  16. track — to keep track
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stock — shares
  24. kid — to tease

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