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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. object — an aim
  5. fine — high quality
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mate — a friend
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. mate — a partner
  21. object — to protest
  22. object — a thing
  23. cold — not warm
  24. fine — a penalty

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