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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 120 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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bound — tied together
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. clip — for paper
  6. spring — of water
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. mark — a grade
  12. clip — a video
  13. spring — the season
  14. mark — a trace
  15. shower — rain
  16. rule — government
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. rule — a law
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. clip — to cut

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