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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. cold — an illness
  4. root — the cause
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. dip — to sink
  14. press — to push
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. root — of a word
  17. press — newspapers
  18. root — of a plant
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ball — a dance
  22. press — a publisher
  23. ball — a great time
  24. branch — a division

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