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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. object — to protest
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. object — a thing
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. object — an aim
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. dip — to sink
  15. march — music
  16. field — farmland
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — the month
  19. bat — the animal
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. march — the month
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — to sit on

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