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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. last — to go on
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cap — a lid
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. tear — from crying
  13. last — final
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. land — to come down
  16. last — finally
  17. cap — a hat
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. land — a country
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. land — ground
  22. cap — of ice
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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