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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. hand — help
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. ground — a position
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hand — in cards
  13. tear — to rip
  14. ground — the earth
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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