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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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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: wound · march · cell · mug · pop · wind · key · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cell — a phone
  4. march — the month
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. march — music
  9. mug — a face
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. key — in music
  13. pop — soda
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pop — music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. mug — a cup
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mug — to rob
  24. key — for a lock

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