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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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. wound — an injury
  3. game — a match
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. club — a group
  10. rash — a series
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. game — wild animals
  13. field — a subject
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. club — for golf
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. rash — on the skin

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