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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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. mark — a grade
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. kid — to tease
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bat — the animal
  9. mark — a trace
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wax — to grow
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. kid — child
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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