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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 120 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. file — a document
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. clip — to cut
  10. capital — a city
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. file — a tool
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. capital — money
  15. clip — a video
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. file — a line of people
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. ruler — a monarch

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