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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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 — moving air
  2. sharp — clever
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stand — to bear
  6. tear — to rip
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. court — for sport
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. court — of law
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wind — moving air
  23. court — of a king
  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