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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. rock — music
  4. cold — not warm
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ball — a dance
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. rock — a stone
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. deal — to handle
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. ball — a great time
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cold — the Cold War

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