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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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. tear — to rip
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rock — music
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. tear — from crying
  8. net — after costs
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fork — in a road
  16. game — a match
  17. net — in sport
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. net — for catching
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rock — a stone
  24. bat — in an idiom

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