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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. tear — from crying
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — to get on
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. board — a committee
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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