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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. band — a ring
  5. wind — moving air
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bulb — for light
  8. tear — from crying
  9. band — a music group
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. tear — to rip
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. club — a group
  15. tear — from crying
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. degree — from a university
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wind — moving air
  21. club — for golf
  22. saw — the tool
  23. club — for dancing
  24. bulb — for light

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