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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. spring — of water
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. track — to keep track
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. spring — the season
  15. perch — the fish
  16. track — a song
  17. chest — a box
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. spring — a coil
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. track — a path
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bark — to shout

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