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

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. shower — rain
  4. content — happy
  5. rock — a stone
  6. content — the amount
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. stand — to bear
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rock — music
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. stand — on your feet

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