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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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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — an aim
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. kid — to tease
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. face — part of the head
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. face — to point toward
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. face — to confront
  13. object — a thing
  14. kid — child
  15. fork — in a road
  16. plane — a tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bay — to keep at bay

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