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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. staff — a stick
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. cold — not warm
  5. staff — employees
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — music
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. row — a line
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. staff — employees

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