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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. season — in sport
  8. last — final
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wind — moving air
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. last — finally
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pass — a permit
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. last — to go on
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. mouse — the animal

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