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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 120 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. spring — the season
  7. wax — to grow
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — of water
  11. fine — all right
  12. degree — from a university
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spring — a coil
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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