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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. lean — to bend
  3. stock — goods
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. stock — shares
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cap — a hat
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cap — of ice
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cell — a phone
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. lean — thin
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cap — a lid
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. drill — army training
  24. wound — an injury

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