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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. ground — a position
  3. wax — to grow
  4. saw — the tool
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. vault — a safe
  15. branch — a division
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. saw — the tool
  20. ground — crushed
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. branch — of a tree

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