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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. net — after costs
  3. face — to point toward
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. pop — music
  7. last — to go on
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. last — finally
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pit — a hole
  12. net — for catching
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cold — not warm
  15. face — to confront
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. last — final
  18. pop — soda
  19. face — part of the head
  20. spell — letters
  21. net — in sport
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spell — magic
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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