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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bark — to shout
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chest — of your body
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chest — a box
  11. current — happening now
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. current — electric
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. degree — from a university
  20. current — of water
  21. degree — temperature
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. racket — a loud noise

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