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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. spring — the season
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spring — of water
  6. row — a line
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. spring — a coil
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wax — to grow
  21. stand — to bear
  22. clip — for paper
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a leader

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