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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. tear — from crying
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. season — in sport
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. season — of the year
  11. capital — money
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. tear — from crying
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pitch — completely
  22. tear — to rip
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pitch — a sports field

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