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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. chest — of your body
  4. can — to be able to
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rule — government
  8. drill — army training
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. spring — of water
  13. rule — a law
  14. shower — to wash
  15. can — a tin
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. chest — a box
  19. can — a tin
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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