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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. race — humankind
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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