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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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. march — the month
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lie — to recline
  7. cold — an illness
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. march — music
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cold — not warm
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. hand — help
  23. march — the month
  24. coach — a trainer

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