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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 blown up by a land ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bass — low music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — of a word
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bass — the fish
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. spell — magic
  15. root — the cause
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. spell — letters
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. kid — child
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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