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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. last — to go on
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cold — an illness
  13. season — of the year
  14. shower — rain
  15. last — finally
  16. face — to confront
  17. last — final
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. face — part of the head
  21. season — in sport
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. face — to point toward

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