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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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. fine — all right
  3. deal — to handle
  4. mate — to breed
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. fine — high quality
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mate — a partner
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. mate — a friend
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. chip — for betting
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bass — low music
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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