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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cap — of ice
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cap — a hat
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kid — child
  11. cap — a lid
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. pit — in a race
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. lie — to recline
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pit — a hole
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. kick — in football
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. tear — from crying

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