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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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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: land · fine · season · bay · stick · ground · shower · rash

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. land — to come down
  5. ground — crushed
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. fine — all right
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. ground — the earth
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. ground — a position
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. shower — rain
  16. rash — hasty
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. rash — a series
  19. season — in sport
  20. land — a country
  21. season — of the year
  22. shower — to wash
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. land — ground

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