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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. rash — hasty
  3. scale — size or range
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. prune — to trim
  6. drill — a practice
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. drill — the tool
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. ball — a dance
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. prune — to trim
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. drill — army training
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. scale — in music
  23. branch — a division
  24. snap — to click

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