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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. mate — to breed
  7. content — happy
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. content — the amount
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stock — shares
  16. pit — a hole
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stock — goods
  22. mate — a friend
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. mate — a partner

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