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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 124 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. kick — in football
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. track — a song
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. track — to keep track
  14. hand — help
  15. roll — a list
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. track — a path
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. roll — a cake
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. present — the time now
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. present — there
  24. cell — in biology

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