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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bear — the animal
  11. tube — a container
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. field — farmland
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. chair — a leader
  17. field — for sport
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bear — the animal
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. field — a subject
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. hide — to keep secret

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