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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to click
  4. cold — an illness
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. shower — rain
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. season — of the year
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. season — in sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. shower — to wash

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