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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. degree — an amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. firm — steady
  11. court — of law
  12. degree — temperature
  13. content — happy
  14. court — for sport
  15. firm — a company
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. firm — decided
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. court — of a king
  23. content — the amount
  24. fan — to cool the air

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