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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 120 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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. bay — a horse colour
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. court — of law
  5. pop — soda
  6. court — for sport
  7. pop — to visit
  8. rock — music
  9. key — the most important part
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. face — to point toward
  12. court — of a king
  13. face — to confront
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. rock — a stone
  17. shower — to wash
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. shower — rain
  21. pop — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. face — part of the head

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