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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. spell — a short time
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rush — hurry
  8. tear — to rip
  9. spell — magic
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bound — obliged
  16. spell — letters
  17. bound — tied together
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. bound — certain
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. field — farmland

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