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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chest — a box
  5. bank — for money
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — decided
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. perch — the fish
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cold — an illness
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bank — for money
  18. key — in music
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bank — of a river
  21. firm — steady
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — the most important part
  24. perch — for a bird

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