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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · ground · nail · bay · cold · land · rock · fine

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. land — a country
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rock — music
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. land — ground
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ground — crushed
  10. fine — high quality
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. ground — a position
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fine — all right
  18. land — to come down
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. fan — to cool the air

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