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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. season — of the year
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. wind — moving air
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. season — in sport
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. ground — crushed
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. trunk — of a car

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