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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. shower — rain
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tear — to rip
  9. staff — employees
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bat — the animal
  16. staff — employees
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. pound — a weight
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cap — a hat
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. cap — of ice
  24. toast — bread

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