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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. spell — letters
  3. bound — obliged
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. face — to point toward
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spell — a short time
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bound — tied together
  13. face — part of the head
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bound — certain
  16. face — to confront
  17. spell — magic
  18. band — a music group
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rash — a series
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. band — a ring
  24. rash — on the skin

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