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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. court — for sport
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. game — wild animals
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. court — of a king
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. game — a match
  18. court — of law
  19. tear — to rip
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. hand — in cards
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hand — help

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