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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. present — there
  3. kid — child
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. tear — to rip
  9. present — the time now
  10. pass — a permit
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. tear — from crying
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — a cake
  21. present — a gift
  22. tear — from crying
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pass — to spend time

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