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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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. drill — the tool
  4. season — in sport
  5. sharp — clever
  6. drill — army training
  7. staff — employees
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wind — moving air
  13. staff — employees
  14. season — of the year
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. drill — a practice
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wind — moving air

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