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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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. nail — for a hammer
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. pit — in a race
  7. rock — music
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. scale — in music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rock — a stone
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. scale — size or range
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pit — a hole

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