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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. object — to protest
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. hand — in cards
  6. object — an aim
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. roll — a list
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. last — finally
  12. hand — help
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. object — a thing
  15. last — final
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. clip — a video
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. last — to go on
  22. clip — for paper
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a cake

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