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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cold — not warm
  9. vault — a safe
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. present — the time now
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. game — a match
  18. present — a gift
  19. bear — the animal
  20. present — there
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cold — an illness
  24. game — wild animals

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