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

Word bank: jam · bowl · bay · cold · mine · patient · swing · wake

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. swing — music
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. cold — an illness
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wake — a trail

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