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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bound — obliged
  3. present — a gift
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bound — certain
  6. wake — a trail
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. present — the time now
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. present — there
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bound — tied together

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