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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. court — for sport
  3. chest — a box
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. court — of law
  6. saw — the tool
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. court — of a king
  10. root — the cause
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bark — to shout
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. tear — from crying
  22. root — of a word
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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