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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. chest — a box
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bound — obliged
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. snap — to click
  21. bound — certain
  22. march — the month
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bound — tied together

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