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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wind — moving air
  3. snap — to click
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. date — the fruit
  12. lie — to recline
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wind — moving air
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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